Defenceless residents

Defenceless residents

The Times of India



Bangalore: In 1971, colonel K Ramachandran was at the battlefield on behalf of his country. In 2005, the 60-year-old has been left to fend for himself in a flooded house.

On Sunday, the Nagawara lake wall breached. Water gushed in close to 100 houses. Since then, Mariammanapalya in Bangalore North, near Hebbal Lake, has been in a freeze frame.

Residents of the defence enclave have been fighting a losing battle and almost 500 of them are under house arrest. The ground floors of all houses have waist-high water, toilets are unusable and residents have either clambered on to the first floor or simply left their homes.

The situation is nothing short of siege: “There was no milk and no food. In some houses, even wells are contaminated. In others, we’ve had water for breakfast, lunch and dinner, saving all food stocks for the children,’’ said Uma Maheshwari.

On Thursday morning, a coracle rescued some residents, whose houses were under six feet water. “We called the chief minister’s personal assistant, former PM Deve Gowda’s office. I told them my daughter is mentally challenged and we need to be evacuated as the water level has been rising. But each time, all they said was — we will send help in ten minutes,’’ said Subash Bose.

Those ten minutes never ticked. Finally residents hired the coracle and lifted 22-yearold Anisha out of the sinking house.

A Santanam has packed his belongings to leave the place for good. “The place stinks and there is so much water. How can anyone stay here?’’ he asked. No one cares for them, because parts of Mariammanapalya fall under Byatarayanapura city municipal council and the other half under Dasarahalli panchayat. Each time residents call for help, officials shift responsibility to the other.

Retired squadron leader T R Sharma said: “After retirement, we put all our money to build a house. With so many transfers in our profession, this house provided us with a permanent address. But today nothing of the house is left. It is only bricks, mortar and water.’’