BANGALORE: Civic woes faced by citizens in city is innumerable. In a brief chat with City Express, Arun Prasad, member of Rustam Bagh Residents’ Association for a Cleaner Environment (RRACE) discussed the concerns prevailing in their area and some of the measures taken by them along with the authorities.
Arun Prasad, also a resident of Rustam Bagh said, “Hawkers were the main problem in this area. However, we have eliminated this problem with the help of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities. Apart from this, we have been fighting constantly against the usage of plastic in our area that has now been brought under control.”
As far as civic issues are concerned, he said, “The backyard of Rustam Bagh comprises IT companies mostly. Hence people working in those companies come out for a smoke, tea and coffee during their breaks. As a result, by evening, tea cups are strewn all over the place. We are trying to find a solution to this problem, for a long time now.”
The residents here have the contact number of the contractor responsible to manage the garbage. Whenever the civic workers miss out on collecting the garbage, residents call up the contractor to clear the waste. This way, cleanliness is ensured in this locality. Similar rule goes with the street light management. Residents take the initiative to call up the corporator or the BESCOM officials to fix the street light and it is restored within specified time.
However, water remains a problem in this area. Arun said, “We have a borewell as well as a Cauvery connection, which is very uncertain. Talks with BWSSB have not resulted in any outcome so far. They have been telling us for a while, that things will return to normalcy by April 2012.”
When City Express contacted the area corporator M Chandrappa Reddy, he said, “As far as water issues are concerned, Bangalore needs about 1,500 million litres of water per day, but only 750 million litres are provided. Previously our ward number was 73, during which sufficient water was released by BWSSB. My ward needs 12 million litres per day (MLD) water per day, but only 4-5 (MLD) of water is released with least force.”
Though the silver lining is, residents have no issues with the BMTC bus connectivity.