BANGALORE: It was rightly said that Bangalore is an ‘ape city’ which is growing rapidly. With increasing activities of urbanisation, many villages within a radius of about 40 kilometres have started to feel the heat and have converted themselves into a city. Hoody, which was once a village has been included under the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits. Some villages like Byrathi, Bilishivale, Varanasi etc, which were under the gram panchayat, have also been included in the Hoody BBMP ward.
One still gets the feel of a village, when one visits the ward. City Express found that the Sadarmangala Road next to Hoody Railway Gate was in its worst condition. “Many vehicles take this to reach Sadarmangala. But the condition of the road is pathetic, welcoming abuses and curses. The situation turns into a nightmare especially during monsoons,” said Prabhakar, a web-designer.
The ward corporator B A Basavaraju said, “The road is a railway property. We neither have rights over it nor do we have any provision to develop it. I had met the State Minister for Railways, K H Muniyappa and requested him to direct the railway officials to allow some development works. Since the Railways has a plan to extend the existing railway track, they did not give heed to my demands.”
The density of heavy vehicles like trucks and tempos hitting Kodigehalli Road is very high. Tulasi, a resident said, “There are no street lights on the road. There are no footpaths either on this narrow road. Speed-breakers should be laid to curb the speed of the heavy vehicles.”
The ward corporator said that the funds allotted to his ward, to take up the development works, were not sufficient. “If there are any small works to be completed, I do it with my own money. But major development works like laying streets lights, asaphalting the roads, drainage etc needs a large amount of money and I have to wait for the funds to be released from the Palike.”
Basavaraju lamented that, “The constituency MLA had promised to provide money for the ward. It has not materialised so far.”
Areas like Ayyappanagar, Hoody Main Road are facing problems relating to water. Many private water tankers can be seen supplying water to the areas. The corporator said that approximately 20 water tankers are provided by the Palike.
“Other than the tankers, we had dug six borewells, of which three are at Ayyappanagar. The borewell dries after a few months.”