Roads remain bumpy, taps dry but MLA ‘works’ overtime

Roads remain bumpy, taps dry but MLA ‘works’ overtime

The MLA lists out the ‘development’ projects he has undertaken but what one can see are potholed roads and people clearing the garbage themselves.

Deccan Herald

Four-time MLA from Varthur, A Krishnappa, prides himself as one “who begins work at 9 am and ends his day at 11 pm.” Without a holiday, he is out to serve the common man, he claims.

Varthur is a constituency of 5.03 lakh voters. Coming under Bangalore North Parliamentary constituency, it houses several major public sector units — prominently, ITI and HAL — besides ITPL and top IT houses in the Whitefield-Marathahalli areas.

Living in the thick of IT growth, Mr Krishnappa says his 24/7 service is not his lone claim to fame. Ask him about development projects in the last six months, and he candidly lists out : “Water supply, better roads, loans to the poor, lots of buses...”
Now take the Varthur Main Road that winds around the picturesque Varthur Tank —it could awaken your senses to what “development” in the tech hub of IT city is.
Vehicles zig-zag in a vain attempt to find asphalt on which they could drive. Dust covers the locality, as buses zoom, in a bid to get out of the road as fast as possible. A stone carpet tells the story of a road-laying project abandoned mid-way. According to officials, this was to be a “model” of public-private partnership infrastructure ventures.

It was supposed to be a concrete road, but has not seen more than stone and mud over the last four months. Somewhere along this stretch languish several multinational BPO offices, waiting for a better way out.

Amongst the projects Mr Krishnappa takes credit for are: Cauvery water to the CMCs (In reality, this is a World Bank-funded project that was taken up by the BWSSB and worse, has not come into effect till now); and widening of Old Madras Road (which is a part of the Centre’s Golden Quadrilateral project to improve National Highways).

In the residential areas, people are full of complaints. “We clear our own garbage. We elect this MLA but we do his work. A good example is how the local councillors behave — two years ago, we took issue with them over bad roads, and the public tap in our road has been dry ever since. If we repair it, we are questioned about it!” said Imran, a resident of Islampura.

REALITY CHECK
It is over six months since the coalition government assumed office in Karnataka and we are yet to have a full-fledged State Cabinet. Of the 16 Assembly segments in Bangalore, 11 are held by the Congress, one by the JD(S) and four by the BJP. Usually, MLAs come under media scrutiny just before and during elections. But Deccan Herald, in a series, ‘Your MLA’s Semester’, starting today, will look at the performance of the legislators of the Bangalore region in the last six months and highlight the voters’ perceptions.

Do write to us, if you have anything to say of your MLA.

VOTERS’ VOICE
R Nagaraj Kumar, HAL Employees’ Association senior vice-president: The HAL-Marathahalli main road was dug up a few months ago by the CMC, but nobody bothered to re-lay it. The CMC demanded Rs 8 crore to repair the road. Finally, HAL repaired one stretch at a cost of Rs 6.5 lakh.

Thippamma, vegetable vendor: We don’t know what has been improved in the area, except that the MLA doesn’t trouble us. He has helped us get a ration card but our life has not improved.

Nazir Ahmed, resident: I’ve not seen any major change since I was born. I’ve lived here all my life. The roads and infrastructure remain the same.

Abdul Jabbar, Noble Samaj Sudhar Sangh head: We have given several petitions to the MLA but there has not been any response. The main problems are bad sanitation and roads. He has taken up some tasks like putting streetlights but development is very slow

KRISHNAPPA CLAIM
*Installed 80 borewells in the past six months.
*Put Cauvery-water-to-CMCs project on fast track.
*Inaugurated market yard for farmers.
*Improved the national highway stretch along Venkaiahna Kere
*Public toilets in six places on the verge of completion.
*Bridges under construction near Sevanagar and on Airport Road.
*Plan to provide Cauvery water to Airport, Jeevanbhimanagar and other areas in 15 days.
*Cauvery lines being drawn to ITPL.
*CMCs instructed to give priority for building of class-rooms, toilets and kitchens in schools.
*Roads not being asphalted as PWD will take up State roads’ improvement soon; only potholes being patched up now.
*Projects moving at slow pace because of coalition constraints
*The situation will ease after ministry expansion.