BANGALORE: The Mathikere flyover has many people living under it.
Slum dwellers of Mathikere are forced to live in temporary make-shift houses under the flyover, provided by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), as their permanent houses were demolished for widening the MS Ramaiah Road.
The residents of the houses have been living here for almost a year now. The BBMP had promised the residents here a permanent house six months ago. However, nothing has happened yet.
Gangaraj, a resident said, “I have no clue if we will ever get a permanent shelter. It’s been a year, there is no news from the authorities.” When City Express asked the residents about the basic facilities available to them, Kavita a resident said, “There’s no proper supply of electricity and the water is also very erratic.” She further added, “It is really risky to live under a flyover. The constant vehicular movement disrupts our daily lives.
The bar located near by also adds to the nuisance.” According to the residents Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, MLA of Malleshwaram is responsible for the present situation. The MLA was however, unavailable for comments.
The shopkeepers near the road were also against the road widening. There are forty- two units here that share 10 common toilets. Each unit has different owners.
Promises of permanent houses were made but yet there is no ray of hope for these slum dwellers. Janaki, a resident said, “Muniswamy Gowda, the corporator and Narayan has promised us that we would get permanent houses in Lakshmipura and Legare.” When asked about the difficulties faced by them, she said “During the rains the water accumulates under the flyover. There is slush all over. We cannot even step out of our homes.” Krishna Murthy, another resident said, “Neither the corporator nor the MLA visits this place, after many calls M K Harish, assistant engineer BBMP, came to assist us.” He further added “We have also requested and given a written application to the Chief Minister, Yeddyurappa this Ambedkar Jayanthi. Even then, nothing has happened.” The corporator , Muniswamy Gowda said, “The work is in progress. We should hopefully be done in another six months. The exact time period is hard to tell as its not in my hands. We are trying our best to get the work done at the earliest.” While the BBMP is improving the roads in the city, what happens to those whose houses get demolished for this development?