Baig of mixed responses with no major problems

Baig of mixed responses with no major problems

Deccan Herald

An ‘inaccessible’ MLA is the main grouse of the educated voters of Jayamahal Assembly constituency, who are, otherwise, content with their well-nurtured home-turf.

Name the basic amenities and the residents say they are satisfied with what has been made available to them. But their elected representative, who is unobtrusively monitoring the development works, is never around. And that irks them more than anything else.

Though six months have passed since the voters gave Mr R Roshan Baig a fresh lease in politics, the latter has chosen to keep a low profile, apparently to keep detractors at bay. But his strategy has left the educated residents wondering if he has consigned himself to oblivion.

“We have not seen him after the elections. When he is industrious, why is he not making himself available to us,” is the refrain of many a resident, when asked what Mr Baig had done for them so far.

The areas that come under Jayamahal constituency are Jayamahal, Sagayapuram, Pulakeshinagar, JC Nagar, Ganganagar and Aramanenagar (Palace Guttahalli). And residents’ expectations from Mr Baig are quite low in this constituency, which has a voter population of 1.8 lakh — a mix of upper middle class families and slum dwellers. While the educated upper middle class just wants Mr Baig to be accessible, the lower class has no complaints as their needs are usually met by the corporators.

“We do not know when the MLA comes and where he goes. The last we heard about him was when he won the elections,” said senior citizen C Narayan, a member of the Little World Trust and a resident of upmarket Visvesvararanagar in RT Nagar. Mr Narayan said he wants the MLA to co-ordinate with various civic agencies in improving the condition of roads and streamlining traffic.

While the roads in the constituency have not been re-tarred for the past five years, the condition of the Mattadahalli Main Road (which connects Cantonment area with RT Nagar) and the RT Nagar Main Road has gone from bad to worse. Similarly, the residents of Nrupathunga Extension want the MLA to intervene to solve a ‘burning problem’ by getting a high wall constructed around the cemetery and crematorium in their area. However, they all agreed that their area was not marked with major civic problems like those dogging other parts of the City.

On the other hand, the lower class has nothing against Mr Baig. There are about 24 slums in the constituency and given the fact that Mr Baig draws his political strength from this segment, all the major development works undertaken by him in the past six months have been targeted at benefiting this group.

Though the slums are plagued by several civic problems, the dwellers refuse to speak when Mr Baig’s name is mentioned. They said they are ‘benefiting’ from Mr Baig and the corporators. Citing the shifting of 316 slum dwellings from the Khuddus Saheb cemetery to a new location in MS Palya, residents of JC Nagar said, “it was made possible only after Mr Baig’s intervention”.

An officer attached to the JC Nagar police station said, “He not only rehabilitated the slum dwellers in pucca houses but also enabled those who visited the cemetery to offer prayers peacefully. This has reduced communal tension in the area to some extent.”

This apart, Mr Baig has also tried to consolidate his position among the youth by taking up works pertaining to the development of playgrounds in the constituency. As football is the favourite game of the slum dwellers of Sagayapuram and surrounding areas, two football stadiums are being constructed — one in Bagalur Layout and the other in Pillanna Garden.

Mr Baig has also ensured that he does not rub the corporators in his constituency on the wrong side. Unlike other constituencies where MLAs interfere too much into the corporators’ work, Mr Baig has ensured a smooth sailing even for corporators who are not from his party.

Seems like this MLA is on a roller-coaster ride as far as acceptance among voters goes, save for one hitch – his accessibility.

ROSHAN REPLY

*Slum dwellers were shifted from near the Khuddus Saheb Burial Ground and rehabilitated in the newly-constructed houses at KG Byadarahalli.
*Digging of borewells under the Mini Water Scheme taken up at JC Nagar, Ganganagar, Palace Guttahalli, Sultanpalya and Rahmath Nagar.
*Provided Rs 10.50 lakh for renovation, repairs and construction of places of worship under the Aradhana Scheme.
*A total of 43 huts at A K Colony in Palace Guttahalli were reconstructed as single bedroom houses for the cobbler families residing in the area.
*Construction of a new vegetable market at a cost of Rs 30 lakh taken up at Ganganagar.
*Installed new transformers at Rahmath Nagar, Mattadahalli, Sagayapuram and Haynes Road to avoid power fluctuations.

VOTERS’ VOICE

Syed Abdul Wajid, Vice Chairman, Civic Forum, RT Nagar I Block: We don’t expect miracles from our MLA. We only expect him to be available and respond to our problems. The garbage collection happens once in two or three days, the roads have not been asphalted for a long time and the re-developed parks are not taken care of properly.

Jayabala, auto rickshaw driver: Mr Baig has helped me get an autorickshaw from the Karnataka Backward Classes Development Corporation and also in procuring a driving licence.

H Venkatesh, Dasara Committee Organising Secretary: The MLA should liaise with the defence authorities and get the six-acre Dasara ground transferred from them. This will also help JC Nagar’s budding cricketers and football players, whose practice sessions have become non-starters due to non-availability of the playground.

K S Seshadri, priest, Lakshmi Venkateshwara Temple, Mattadahalli: The Mattadahalli Main Road was broadened six months ago, but now it stands damaged. This busy road links Cantonment with RT Nagar.