Koramangala residents go on protest

Koramangala residents protest, seek better roads
The Hindu

BANGALORE, OCT. 16. The placards read: "We want good roads," "`Wake up BMP," "Give us back our roads," "Koramangala bachao" and "Increased traffic, improved roads''. The slogans they shouted echoed these sentiments.

The residents of Koramangala, including students and teachers of Jyothi Nivas College, marched around the area on Saturday afternoon demanding that the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike immediately attend to their request for better roads and other amenities.

The Koramangala Residents Civic Group, other residents' associations, students, housewives, senior citizens and even an "e-group" of IT professionals joined the march, which began near the BMP ward office.

They walked through the 3rd, 4th and 5th blocks and returned to the 6th block.

Complaints

Those assembled had many complaints and the refrain was that the protest just might be an eye-opener for the BMP Commissioner who, they said, had ignored their repeated appeals. In the 1st block, for instance, the BWSSB was carrying out extensive work and many vehicles used the smaller streets nearby. This was a risk because small children usually played on the streets.

There were also complaints about city buses plying through the 8th, 12th and 16th main roads and causing traffic snarls. Many of the main roads in the area had become waterlogged because of poor drainage and others were full of potholes.

Community leaders who addressed the marchers said: "We want a transparent ward planning system and want to know where the money we pay as taxes goes. The least we expect are better roads, better control of traffic and ready response from the authorities."