STILL LIVING WITHOUT BASICS

           By  Faris Arakkal

Venkataswamy Layout in Kammanahalli is a place overlooked by the civic authorities. It has a population of more than 1000 people with more than 200 households. They have been tolerating the laid back attitude of the authorities for the last four years. The basic amenities like proper roads and drinking water supply remain ignored. 

A one visit to Venkataswamy Layout in Kammanahalli area and it will shatter all the hype about Bangalore being one of the most sought after cities in India. It has the worst roads, poor water supply and most awful waste collection system. Now that the assembly elections are over, the authorities and representatives cannot excuse themselves by saying that the development works are stalled.
   And probably, in a few days, the sitting MLA has all the chances of becoming a minister in the state. Nearly, 200 families are left in the lurch without basic amenities. It seems that the layout has been isolated and this carelessness attitude by the representatives is misruling the areas.

'A road not to ply'
Every motorist who has taken the Venkatswamy Layout road has repeated these lines. Certainly the look of the road for the last four years has remained the same. Numerous potholes, muddy roads have tarnished the image of the layout.  The narrow roads in the area are adding to the existing problems. The number of humps and potholes on these roads are proving to be too risky for the motorists. The residents often complain that the road has not been asphalted for the last four years. A week ago, a water tanker was fallen prey to one of the manholes. Many bikers had a close shave with death as they are falling in the pit formed in the middle of the road.

Where water is a rare commodity 
The most basic necessity of drinking water is a scarce commodity here. Drinking water is not available in every household and the residents have to seek water supply from the private suppliers which is a costly affair. While the residents have no water to drink, they are forced to pay up the bills. "There is no proper water access and we have to wait in queues to fill water which causes a lot of problem. We have to pay water bills despite the fact that we are getting water or not. While the Cauvery water is the only potable water supplied in the layout, the water is available only for an hour on Thursdays and Fridays", alleges Rekha one of the residents. Further she adds that due to rain, the water is now mixed with mud and emanating a foul smell.
Residents also blame that they have to shell out huge money to get proper water supply.  The residents have to bribe the water serviceman to stretch the half hour duration of the Cauvery water supply to one hour.  "We have to spend so much on water. Cauvery water supply is not enough for our daily chores and the private water tankers charge Rs 600 during summer," said Sumitha, a resident.

Politics too has its role!
The area residents are not sure about whom to approach when they want to meet their ward councilor.  Residents often hear three names of corporators and are left confused about the area's jurisdiction.
The three corporators whose names which do the rounds in the layout are A Kodanda Reddy (Banaswadi Ward 27), Padmanabha Reddy (Kacharakanahlli Ward 28) and MC Srinivas ward Kammanahalli (Ward 28). Although, MC Srinivas is the corporator of the under which Venkataswamy Layout falls, the other two corporators name are often heard in the area. Residents have appealed several times with the BBMP officials for getting the road tarred but in vain. Every time, they approach the officials, they have got a reply that the project has been sanctioned and will be carried out soon. Before the elections, Padmanabha Reddy had visited the layout and had attended the ward meeting. The residents could not air their grievances at the meet was done keeping the elections in mind. According to residents, even MLA KJ George was not present in the meet. Now, the residents doubt that they have been victimized for the internal political war between the coporators and MLA. When Cityplus summoned MLA over phone he was not available.  His phone kept ringing.

Garbage galore
While water and roads are the urgent needs to be meted out, heaps of garbage lying uncleared in the layout is creating a lot of trouble. Sumitha, a resident from the layout who is been collecting waste from most of the houses, says that the lady who was assigned by the BBMP to collect garbage has never turned up and the roads are in peril.  She further adds that she cannot move her tricycle trough the road as the road is plagued with potholes. But the residents complain that the lady is too arrogant and she uses foul language.
When other layouts have newly installed borewells, why was Venkataswamy Layout left out? When all the nearby streets have descent roads why the residents of Venkataswamy Layout are bearing the brunt?  While Cityplus tried reaching out to Padmanabha Reddy and MC Srinivas for their comments, they were unavailable for the comments. It is quite appalling to see that the basic necessities are not provided to people and they are exposed to different kinds of problems due the carelessness attitude of the authorities.