BANGALORE: Indrani, a 70-year-old woman with her immunity power decreasing day-by-day is still spending most of her day’s time standing in a queue, fighting for a pot of water. Such is the condition of most of the residents at Old Bagalur Layout, a area falling under the Sagarayapuram Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ward.
The ward is full of water woes. When we visited the ward, we saw many homemakers along with Indrani and other senior citizens fighting for water. “We did not have water problems to this extent some years ago. We had a Cauvery water tap which catered to all our needs. But, the Cauvery water tap has gone dry for the past 3-4 years and we are made to rely on the bore well taps,” said Indrani, a resident of Old Bagalur Layout.
The angry residents said that the water supplied to them through the bore well pipes last only for around half-an-hour to one hour. “How can the water supplied in that pipe be enough for all of us?” questioned the residents. Many college students with their exams around the corner too were seen standing in the queue for water.
“With the summer round the corner, we need more water to quench our thirst and for our domestic purposes too. Many of our complaints have fallen to deaf ears. But this time, we are planning to block the streets if our demands are not met,” unanimously said the residents. Other than the water issue, at Davis Road, 13th Cross, 5th Main, some of the residents are dumping garbage under a transformer. “The residents who do not handover their garbage to the pourakarmikas, are dumping it near the transformers, which needs to be stopped. What is more dangerous is that fire is lit to the garbage which risks the life of the shops and houses nearby,” said Makthiar, a tailoring shop owner. He suggested that this can be stopped if the residents who throw garbage near the transformer be slapped with fines from the Palike. The corporator V Palaniyammal was not available for comments.