BENGALURU: With civic authorities turning a blind eye to their woes, traders on SJP Road are forced to transport 8 to 10 cans of drinking water from home each day just to keep things running at their stores. For the past few months, the area — which houses over 2,000 shops — has been reeling under the impact of BBMP’s white-topping work, which has choked access and crippled businesses. Repeated complaints to BWSSB about broken water pipelines have gone unanswered.
The lack of water, traders said, has already driven away many workers, while women helpers handling accounts and other duties are refusing to come to work, saying it’s impossible to carry enough water for the entire day. Besides, the nearest public toilet is more than a kilometre away — either near the electronics market or KR Market — making working conditions even more difficult. Traders say multiple appeals to both agencies have gone unheard, and daily operations are now surviving purely on personal effort.
Rahul Goyal, a trader, pointed out that shops are now losing staff as employees are quitting due to lack of water facilities. “To retain them, we are forced to bring water in bulk ourselves. Since December, we have been loading our cars every day with water cans just to keep things running,” he lamented.
Murtuza Mohammed from the traders’ association told TNIE that despite multiple meetings and repeated assurances, BWSSB has failed to deliver.
“They start work, continue for two days, and then abandon without any explanation. Even during Ramzan, thousands of Muslim traders visited BWSSB offices, requesting at least a temporary water connection for use before prayers, but the request was ignored,” he said.
Vishal Varandani, president of the Bangalore Electronics Dealers’ Association (BEDA), said while BBMP has completed white-topping work on a 310-metre stretch, BWSSB has been causing repeated delays. “Under the new plan, pipelines are to be laid beneath the footpath so that in future, the white-topping isn’t disturbed. Footpaths were dug up for this, but no work has happened since,” he said.
He added that broken footpaths are keeping customers away, directly affecting footfall and hitting business in the area.
Traders say the poor condition of roads and lack of water supply have pushed their businesses into complete loss. Neither BBMP nor BWSSB informed them in advance about the work, leaving them unprepared. While they continue to pay rent and staff salaries, no customers are coming in, they added.
When TNIE reached out to BWSSB officials, they passed the responsibility to BBMP, stating that the project falls under the Smart City initiative. A senior BBMP official said work will resume shortly.