BENGALURU: Nearly a month after Bangalore Water Supply Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Chairman Tushar Girinath visited some locations in Bellandur to address citizens’ woes, the latter allege that they have not seen any positive results yet. Some localities such as Jayaram Reddy Layout, Owners Court Layout, Tulsi Layout, KPC Layout and Central Silk Board Layout, which come under the Kasavanahalli area, have been in a pitiful state for the past two years. Residents alleged roads in these areas had been dug up to lay Cauvery pipelines two years back, and then re-dug to lay underground drainage lines.
When Girinath visited some of these layout on September 28, he told residents that the debris and slush on the roads will be cleared by October end. However, residents alleged that the deadlines have passed, and nothing has been done.
Sudarshan Shastry from Owners Court Layout, said, “These are not roads, it is only slush. The by-roads here lead to Kasavanahalli Main Road, which lead to Electronics City and Sarjapur Road, used by many residents. Every day, vehicles get stuck in the slush here, while some even end up in accidents. We were told by Girinath that by October 20, the slush and debris will be removed, but it hasn’t happened. Someone should take accountability. We cannot even walk down these roads.”
Vishnu Prasad, member of Bellandur Development Forum, said, “In certain areas, we were told the debris will be removed by October 20, while others areas were supposed to be cleared by the end of the month. So far, we have not seen any progress. We have been trying to call BWSSB officials to raise complaints, but they have stopped responding to us now. If a VIP visits these areas, they get the work done, but if residents ask, they are not bothered.”
Another resident added, “School buses are not plying on these roads, as drivers say the vehicle will get stuck. We have to go walking and drop our kids to the main road.”Girinath, however, told TNIE that he does not agree with the residents’ allegations. He said, “The work has definitely been taken up and the chief engineers have been reporting to me every day. Maybe in some localities work is yet to start, but there is progress in other areas. It can’t be said that all localities are in a bad state because we are getting updates from engineers. However, if the work actually isn’t happening, I will take strict action.”