BENGALURU: The residents of Malleswaram staged a unique protest on the 17th Cross, on Sunday. They not just sat on the road, but also lay down on the caved-in parts of the ill-maintained stretches.
A few others also filled up the ditches with flowers and priests were called to offer prayers. The residents were aiming to draw the attention of politicians and officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to get the roads fixed.
Interestingly, in February, IT-BT Minister and Malleswaram MLA Dr CN Ashwath Narayan had pulled up BBMP engineers, asking them to repair the roads. Residents state that little or nothing has been done.
Stating that potholes and bad roads have been commonplace in the area, Anoop Iyenger, a resident, said, “Knowing that we will be holding a protest, the BBMP tried to fix some potholes. But work was done in a hurry and the roads have started to sink in. We took up 17th Cross as a symbolic road, but the situation is the same in the entire constituency.”
The residents also questioned the BBMP engineers to show the work they claimed to have completed before the minister. They also demanded that the BBMP officials and minister undertake an inspection with them to see the actual condition of the roads.
Protests politicised, alleges MLA Ashwath Narayan
Malleswaram MLA Dr CN Ashwath Narayan hit back at protesters on Sunday, alleging that there is an ulterior motive behind the protests, which he claimed are politicised. Recently, demonstrations were staged against development work in the constituency, with residents saying that it has been causing them inconvenience.
Responding to the protests, the MLA asked, “Those who want to protest could have done it by openly declaring their party name and by keeping the party flag along with them. But, how far is it right to carry out agitations in the name of citizens?” He lambasted the protesters, saying that it was inevitable that roads will be dug up in order to undertake development of the locality, however, measures are being taken to improve it. He cited the example of Sankey Tank, which he said is currently being developed owing to its importance as a green space for residents.