Bengaluru's busiest shopping area drowning in sewage, and traders are hopeless

Shop owners on SJP Road struggle to load and unload goods. Credit: DH Photo

A clogged drainage network resulting in overflowing sewage has left traders at SJP Road in a fix. Credit: DH Photo

A clogged drainage network resulting in overflowing sewage has left traders worried at the busy Silver Jubilee Park (SJP) Road.

Not only are the shoppers staying away, but those employed in the shops are also falling sick.

A DH reporter visited the place to find overflowing manholes and sludge.

Merchants on SJP Road said they were badly hit. “We lost many customers in the last six months because they are uncomfortable walking (here) amid the sludge and stink. Sales has dropped by 50 per cent due to poor infrastructure,” said Kavya Gurumallappa, who works at Guru Associates.

She added that shop owners struggle to load and unload goods. “It is a circus show every time I unload supplies.”

Rahul Goyal, Secretary of Karnataka Hardware, and Allied Merchants Association, told DH that several employees working in the shops are falling sick.

“The problem worsened during the rains when the road got messier,” he said.

Another shop owner said they raised the issue with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) but to no avail. “They took up some work a few months ago, but it was not helpful. At least four to five inches of sewage remained inside the pipe. I called BWSSB at least five times last week to solve the issue, but they did not show up,” she said.

Pipeline replacement

The BWSSB official in-charge of the area said pipelines on the road were narrow and work to replace them will begin in a week. “Pipes are either 150 mm or 175 mm in diameter. We have decided to replace them with 300 mm diameter pipes,” said Chennappaji, assistant executive engineer, BWSSB.

He blamed the situation on delays in getting road-cutting permission from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

He also urged people not to dump garbage into the sewage line.

“The pipe at SJP Road is downstream and hence, receives all the garbage that is dumped into the underground drainage line starting from Kumbarpet,” he said, adding that the BWSSB is taking desilting of pipes as a temporary measure.