Drought Days in KR Puram

Drought Days in KR Puram
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Bad roads, heavy traffic and garbage have been affecting the normal life of K R Puram City Muncipal Corporation (CMC) residents for long. But nothing is of greater concern than the poor supply of potable water.

This huge area with several layouts is on the outskirts of the city but is very much a part of Bangalore now. For the record, there are about 35 wards in the K R Puram CMC.

Sayed Iqbal, a resident of Basava Nagar, informs that they receive tanker water only once or twice a week. ‘‘We have to travel nearly five km a day only to fetch drinking water. Borewell water can be used for washing or cleaning. To fetch drinking water, I have to go up to ITPL,’’ adds Chandrashekar of Vignan Nagar.

Another resident, Sridhar, complains that the roads, including the layout main roads, are heavy with traffic. ‘‘Some of the roads link various wards and a lot of people use them as short cuts. As a result, traffic is heavy and roads have been damaged beyond repair,’’ he tells.

L Jayaram, president of CMC, K R Puram, says: ‘‘We want people to get good facilities. But the bitter truth is that we do not have enough funds to provide them with all they need. We gather revenue from self assessment and trade licence taxes. This income is too little to maintain the 35 wards in the area.’’ He, however, is hopeful that the government will give them the right to collect developmental and stamp duty charges, which will augment their revenues.

He assures: ‘‘There will be regular supply of Cauvery water from January. The BWSSB is planning to set up a sewerage treatment plant in Devasandra and Marathahalli. We can repair the roads only after they set up this plant.’’