Underground drain work make life hard for residents of Kolar

The underground drainage work taken up by the city municipality at 7th cross road in Palasandra layout has become residents’ nightmare. The recent rain has aggravated the problem.

There are more than 50 houses, with around 300 residents in 7th cross road of Palasandra layout. The municipality had taken up a UGD work on this road around seven months ago. The contractor, who constructed manholes and laid pipes, has not restored the road. Hardly six months after construction, some manholes are already blocked and sewage is overflowing onto the road. Some UGD pipes too have broken away, as a result of which sewage is flowing onto the road. The accumulation of filthy water has given rise to mosquito menace and the fear of an epidemic outbreak.

To make matters worse, the mud from the pits dug for manholes, has been dumped into the stormwater drain. This has affected the flow of rainwater. Garbage washed away by rainwater is blocking SWDs and leachate from putrefying garbage has only added to the health risk. The recent dowpour has worsened the woes with the road turning into a paddy field.

Pedestrians and motorcyclists alike struggle to navigate this stretch.  So much so that autos and water tankers refuse to come to this road. People struggling to extricate a vehicle stuck in the muddy road is a common scene here.

The 7th cross road of the layout lacks proper connectivity. The person who formed the layout, has sold sites without making proper roads for this part. As a result, the residents have obtained permission from the district administration for making use of a government property next to tahsildar’s office, to reach their houses.

Apart from UGD problem, the residents here have been facing acute water scarcity. Though the municipality has laid pipeline for providing tapped water, it has been years since water flowed in the pipeline. As a result, the local body has been supplying water through tankers, free of cost. Each house is getting around 20 pots of water, which is insufficient for daily use, compelling residents to purchase water from private tankers. Repeated complaints of the residents to address the civic woes have fallen on deaf ears.

Rajeshwari, a resident, said that, they had been complaining to the municipality about the poor state of road since the completion of the UGD work. But, the problem has not been addressed. “Autos and school vans do not come to this part of the layout due to poor road. It becomes difficult to even walk on this road whenever it rains,” she said.

Ramesh, another resident, said that, the layout developer sold the sites without providing basic amenities.  “The officials of Kolar Urban Development Authority approved the layout without conducting spot inspection. The municipal officials do not turn up at all.”

Rauth Shankarappa, the councillor from seventh ward, said that the problem had arisen as the layout developer did not provide basic facilities. The road will be tarred soon, he added.
DH News Service