BENGALURU:Residents of Vidhana Soudha Layout in Laggare (near Peenya) have been suffering for the past two years with no bus connectivity to main areas such as KR Market and Majestic or feeder services to the nearest metro station, around 3km away.
H E Jayaram, general secretary of the area’s RWA, says the situation was always bad since the very beginning but it has worsened now. “Earlier there were buses that came every two or three hours. Now it has come to such a state that we get buses going to these main areas only in the morning and not a single one after that,” says Jayaram. There are no buses from K R Market to the locality and few other main areas. Ironically, the roads were bad earlier and now, even though most of the main roads in the area have been well laid, there are no buses.
There are around 315 families in the layout and a number of senior citizens and children who sometimes wait for hours just to get a bus, adds Jayaram. An RTI activist who has been pursuing the matter with the BMTC officials in vain says,“There is also a slum board housing complex in the neighbouring area of Lakshmidevinagar. I see their plight daily and they face a lot of difficulty,” he says.
No Metro Feeder Services
The Peenya and Mahalakshmi Layout metro stations are the nearest to the layout at a distance of around 2 km to 3 km, however, there are no feeder buses to take the people from here, there. “Had we got at least the feeder buses to these metro stations, it would have been better, however even this facility is not available,” says A D Lakshmipathi, president of the RWA.
Presently a flyover is being constructed on Nandini layout nearby and it is expected that following the completion of this stretch, there will be better connectivity when this is over. However, as government plans go, this will take another one year more says Jayaram.
A number of residents from the locality have written and tried following the matter with BMTC officials but with little result.
“We have written numerous letters and told a number of officials about our problems but nothing has been done,” says Lakshmipathi.