Sweet smell of success

Faris Arakkal

A residents' initiative has done wonders in the layout. An open manhole which was creating a lot of inconvenience to residents and commuters has been repaired recently after a resident made unrelenting effort and stood for the cause.  It can be recalled here that the same issue was published in Cityplus newspaper two weeks ago.

The Venkataswamy Layout in Kammanahalli was in news for all the wrong reasons two weeks back. A big manhole in the middle of the road was broken and the commuters along with residents were facing a lot of hardship.   An effort from a resident and your newspaper report did all the wonders and today, the manhole is repaired. R Punitha, despite being physically challenged braved all the odds to fight the lethargic attitude of the authorities and ensued that the layout gets back to normalcy. Cityplus had published the plight of the residents and the open manhole in the middle of the road had hit the headlines.
A couple of weeks ago, a private water tanker driving in the layout crushed one of the manholes and opened its lid. Amidst the hues and cries, the vehicle left the layout but manhole was left opened. The road has never seen asphalting for the last five years and residents were demanding for a facelift. Punitha who is a social worker living in the layout was disturbed by the scene and thought to take up this issue to the authorities. As she knew of the local leaders from the area she did a small signature campaign in the layout and drafted a letter to the leader.
Speaking about this, she said, "After I drafted a letter and gave it to a local leader here, he sent it to officials and after a couple of phone calls, I was assured that the manhole will be repaired very soon". But Puntitha very well knew that the matter would not be solved very soon and she needs to make lot of noise for things to get going. After a weeks' time, this Tuesday, three men from BWSSB came to the spot and started the repair work on the manhole.
"We had to feed them with tea and snacks as we wanted the work to be finished very soon,” said Punitha. She also said that unless we strive for the change, we will not get the things done in the layout as the area is under sheer negligence. The layout has pothole filled roads; basic amenity of potable water is still a distant dream.  Now, the open manhole had turned the heat on Punitha. She works for the well being of physically challenged and keeps no airs on the same. "It was a sheer necessity that made me to take up this issue and it is in my blood", she added.  A gentle smile was visible on her face when a fellow resident appreciated her work. "She has really helped us a lot and she is a boon for our layout", said a homemaker. "The girl's physical illness didn't stop her from doing good deeds," said Rajesh, another resident.
The plight of the residents is still ruling the roost with no proper water supply, dried up borewells and a failed waste management system and Punitha wants to bring the much needed change. "Am thankful for Cityplus for addressing the issues faced by the residents and I have a seen the copy of the newspaper which had reported about the same issue", beamed Punitha. Amidst all the praises, she is setting off for another crack down. "Those two street lights are not working since many days", voices Punitha and left from the scene. The Samaritan signs off with a will to do  in do more in the future.