Fraught with peril

The dug-up stretches in Cambridge Layout pose a threat to passers-by and residents alike. 

The recent death of theatre artiste and television actor Ashok Kumar after falling into a pit full of sewage in Hanumanthnagar has raised many questions on the basic safety of the citizens in the City. Dug-up roads and open pits everywhere pose a threat to the very lives of people. Yet, they seem to be the case in every nook and corner of the City, including the so-called posh colonies.

When one thinks of Cambridge Layout, dug-up lanes and heaps of mud are the last things that come to the mind. However, like every other area in Bangalore, this seems to be the case even in this locality, which is one of the poshest colonies of Bangalore.

The residents of this quaint little area called Someshwarapura in Cambridge Layout, which is a stone’s throw away from the busy 100 Feet Road Indiranagar, have been tolerating the harsh sound of bulldozers for a while now. Due to this work undertaken by the BWSSB to improve the drainage system here, they have also been unable to walk, drive or park as mountains of mud have been lying around.

To top it all, this work, that has been going on for two weeks now, will take nearly two months to complete. Though they are scared to talk much, they reveal the problems that they have been facing to Metrolife.

Sarojini Shetty, a homemaker, gazes at the pile of mud lying right in front of
her house. Forget parking or taking out the vehicles, she can’t even come an inch outside the gate of her house without stepping into dirt. “We need at least some space to walk, don’t we? But by the looks of it, we can’t even do that.

They have just put mud everywhere,” she complains. According to her, the work goes on from 10 am to 8 pm.

However, another resident, Prabhakar, is all for this work undertaken by the authorities and rues that everything finishes by 6 pm.

A retired employee, Prabhakar feels that the public must cooperate in these matters. “The authorities have to do major work and are doing the best they can. Why does the public make a noise for all this? It’s not permanent,” he feels. “They are actually connecting the drainage system from Commando Hospital till here, which will be of great help once finished,” he points out.

Though the BWSSB engineer responsible for this work was not available for comments, the contractors involved with the work didn’t have much to say. “My work is to put the pipes and the granite chambers around. This will take around two months to finish and settle down,” says Shaktivel, one of the contractors doing the work.

The efforts may be rewarding but why can’t the work finish faster, is the question on everyone’s mind. Says Lakshman, the owner of AT Cabs, a company
located right next to where the work is going on, “It’s extremely disturbing. The noise goes on the entire day. At least if they finish the work fast, it will be a respite to us.”
“There are a lot of traffic problems because of this,” says Elango, a shop owner.

He points out to his car which is parked outside the shop. “Though I can bring it in, it’s very hard to take it out. I have to reverse my way out to the main road,” he adds. Are the authorities listening?