BENGALURU: For about three weeks now, residents of 2nd Cross, Nanjamma Layout in Manorayanapalya, RT Nagar, have spent hours baling out sewage water from their kitchens and bedrooms whenever it rains. The residents say they are bearing the brunt of faulty pipeline work by the BWSSB. A written complaint, signed by nearly two dozen families to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) authorities a fortnight ago has not helped.
While residents point to a drainage pipeline connected with the Rajakaluve (SWD) in the wrong direction as the reason for the flooding, a BWSSB official claimed that a pipeline had broken recently and that it would be set right immediately.
Among those who have been having a torrid time is retired insurance company official, K B Manja Naik. A very upset Naik told TNIE, “My wife Yashoda is 66 years and is a cancer patient. Imagine how tough it is for senior citizens like us when sewage water enters our rooms and we have to spend time and effort clearing it.” He asked angrily, “Is this a Silicon City? For us it is like a garbage city.”
Explaining the issue, Pramod Bhat, another resident and marketing executive with a private firm said that the issue was the result of the drainage pipeline connected to the Rajakaluve against the flow of water, causing the sewage to gush out when it rains. “The issue dates back to nearly 12 years. But there were very few houses then and it did not come to the fore. The area is full of houses now and the volume of sewage too is more. The stench is awful and people are forced to bear with it as they cannot leave their own homes.”
Assistant Executive Engineer, BWSSB, R T Nagar, L Harikumar, to whom the written complaint had been submitted, seemed to have not even looked into the letter. “You send across the numbers of a few people and I will look into the issue. It comes under the Storm Water department,” he intially told this reporter. When informed that a detailed letter had been submitted to him on October 25 with the phone numbers of residents and a copy sent to him, Harikumar quickly added, “We will look into it first thing in the morning. Before 9.30 am, our staff will visit the spot. A pipeline (sub main one) got blocked because of some stones inside it. We will take action”.