JOIN USBengalureans are faced with many choices for their dream corporator this BBMP elections. In some localities they are spoilt for choice, while in others they do not know whom to vote for. Some are anxious and some have given up hope.
“I want somebody who knows the locality, someone who knows the residents and someone who is conscious of what the community needs to be our next corporator,” says Biju Cherayath. An artist and an active member of the Residents’ Welfare Association, Bengaluru East (REWABE), Biju has been fighting to reclaim her community space.
Cooke Town is plagued by corroded sewage drains that have not been replaced for the past 70 years, their roads have been cut across innumerable times for water connections and more, the area has been developing at such a rapid pace that no one spares a thought towards sustainability and even building bye-laws. When the corporator or BBMP officials are approached, they play the blame game.
These are problems that localities across the City face. What people are looking for this time around is a corporator who is accountable. “Someone with just a little conscience will do,” says Indira Arun, Secretary of REWABE. “We need the corporator to be a bridge between the people and officials. When a project is taken up, the BBMP should follow it through and work with a time frame,”she adds.
On the other hand, REWABE, a 40-year-old association brings the residents under one umbrella. Several parks in Cooke Town are under the association’s care. “An empowered residents’ welfare association (RWA) is what we need to make a corporator keep his word,” says Chiranjeevi Kumar, an IT Consultant and a resident of HSR Layout. “The RWA could raise a small budget of its own to take up smaller projects for the community,” he adds. Confronting any authority together becomes easier and more persuasive.
His wife, Dr Sangeetha Gomes, an obstetrician says that the only time she has seen a corporator on the streets is during elections. “They are more often than not illiterate. I want a corporator who is educated. Even if he isn’t, he should surround himself with a panel of advisors who are and have an area of expertise. He should have a doctor to tell him what precautions need to be taken to prevent dengue,” she says.
HSR Layout, as she sees it, is slowly spiralling out of control. Garbage is constantly a crisis with irregular collection. She sees butcher’s waste being thrown into Agaralake in the wee hours of morning on her way to work.
On the whole, people are asking for a corporator who is available to them, can understand the local community and senses what it needs. “Our previous corporator was very transparent and we could approach him with any issue always,” says Deepak S of Herohalli. Sometimes, someone who can give a good hearing is all people are asking for even if it takes months to set actual solutions in motion.