Citizens to BMP: give us clean water, safe roads

Citizens to BMP: give us clean water, safe roads

The Hindu

Grievances redressal meetings held at nine places



Bangalore: Being left out on the issue of electoral card, storm water drains not being cleaned and lack of traffic regulation near schools were among the common complaints voiced at the grievances meet held in several Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) wards in the city on Wednesday.

The third phase of hearings had representatives of BMP, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) present. At the Hombegowdanagar grounds near BMP offices, there was thin attendance in the morning, but the number of people grew later.

Padmanabha Shetty, a senior citizen, turned up with a list of 20 grievances. He wanted the names of people aged above 18 to be included in the voters' list, pavements to be levelled, storm water drains to be cleaned, removal of pushcarts selling foodstuffs in front of schools and prompt collection of property taxes.

"Essential medicines should be distributed free of cost to the needy and sale of meat on carts on roadsides should be banned immediately," he said. He wanted all the eligible beneficiaries who have been left out to be issued above poverty line and below poverty line ration cards.

Uday Shankar, corporator (Ward 61), said the electoral list has been revised and Form 6 for inclusion and deletion of names distributed. He said the electoral cards ought to be issued soon. "The Government has asked officials not to issue new ration cards. Once another order is passed for new cards, all those left out will get their ration cards after their bona fides are verified," he said.

Cleaning of drains

N.S. Satyanarayana, another elderly citizen, asked for all storm water drains to be covered so that waste was not thrown into them and trees planted along the roads. S. Parthiban urged the officials present to extend free meal schemes for the elderly and the poor as is being done in a few wards in the city. "We will study how the scheme is being implemented in other wards and take it up here," the corporator said.

Leela Nagaraj said the stagnation of water in the drains had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes in her locality.

Corporator of Ward 62 S.K. Venkatesh said removing silt from the drains will be taken up. "The drains will be lined with concrete and covered with RCC slabs," he said.

At another meeting, Hariharan, a Bharathinagar resident, complained that the water supplied to his locality was unfit for consumption. "My son had to be admitted to hospital because he drank the polluted water," he said. A BWSSB official present said he will look into the matter and take steps.

When asked, most of the citizens present at the grievance meetings said they were happy that such meetings were being held. A few senior citizens remarked that it was the first time in their memory that such meetings were being held.

"This should prompt the corporators to do more to improve infrastructure in their respective wards," they added. The corporators on their part were only eager to be seen as being proactive, with the civic body elections due later this year.

The grievance redressal meetings were held in Jayamahal (ward no. 91, 92, 93, 97), Koramangala (ward no. 67, 68, 69), Bharathinagar (ward no. 80, 81, 82), K.G. Halli (90, 94, 95), Srirammandira (ward no. 17, 18, 21, 22), Mahalakshmipura (ward no. 9, 10, 11, 12), Sanjaynagar (ward no. 4, 100), Chandra Extension (ward no. 39, 40, 41), and JJR Nagar (ward no. 42, 43, 44, 45).