BENGALURU: While the state government is working on improving infrastructure across the city, residents of Bellandur point out that they are worried about the way the ward is being dealt with.
In an online portal set up by the newly launched Bengaluru Nava Nirmana Party, citizens have posted that Ward number 150, Bellandur, home to one of the oldest and largest lakes in the city, is a Category B ward, with a population of over 80,000.
They point out that the road conditions are miserable and many other facilities are far from what is expected. Rupal Ralph, BNP leader said: “We downloaded information from the BNP Citizen Portal and noticed that 260 projects with a total value of Rs 111 crore were approved for Bellandur ward in the last five years but only 120 have been executed.
It is ridiculous that for a ward that is the sixth largest in the city, the budget allocation for roads is a measly Rs 3.2 crore.” Residents also said the allocated Rs 3.2 crore has been used for maintenance of facilities such as parks and street lights in Bellandur. There are many dark spots in the ward making it dangerous for pedestrians and drivers.
Property tax collection from Bellandur is the highest in the city, they said, adding that it is time that citizens are consulted and allowed to participate in the process of ward-level project approval and execution, which is the only way to remove corruption, inefficiency and poor work quality in these projects. Residents of Bellandur have protested several times on this matter and need to be heard, residents said.
Adding to Bellandur’s bundle of woes is the pig menace. Pigs are susceptible to a virus which can infect humans as well. Early in February this year, the IT giant SAP India had shut its offices following two cases of H1N1 influenza, a strain of swine flu. Residents say pigs are attracted to the garbage which is dumped on roads due to irregular waste collection. Civic activists from the Kasa Mukta Bellanduru forum have filed a petition online demanding that the waste collection contractor for the ward be changed.