Cauvery water a pipe dream!

Cauvery water a pipe dream!
By Fathima Sumaya Khan, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Marathahalli is a classic example of how civic bodies are blind towards former city municipal council areas, which have come under the jurisdiction of the newly formed BBMP zones.


No matter is which part of the City you are located, you are bound to suffer from civic problems. Even the far-flung areas have infrastructure problems.

Marathahalli is a classic example of how civic bodies are blind towards former city municipal council areas, which have come under the jurisdiction of the newly formed BBMP zones. A number of problems plague this booming business and residential hub. And this despite the fact that Marathahalli is just 2 km from HAL Airport.

Residents narrate how lack of basic amenities has made their life miserable.

“The BWSSB has laid pipelines for providing Cauvery water close to two years ago in our area, but only the pipes exist. Water connection has not been provided to any of our houses till today,” complained Meenakshi, a resident.

Like Meenakshi, many depend on borewell, or will have to purchase water at Rs 1 per pot. “Marathahalli is a hub of IT industries but ironically, locals crave for basic amenities. Most of the street lights require maintenance,” points out businessman Gopi Reddy. Bad roads add to the existing problems. Most of the internal roads are cratered and have not been asphalted.

No improvement

Puttamma has been residing in Marathahalli for the last thirty years, and has not seen any improvements in the conditions of roads. Residents also have to put up with sewage water overflowing on roads. Most residential lanes face this situation. Sewage water gets accumulated and remains stagnant for days. Open drains also act as breeding ground for mosquitoes and vacant sites have turned into garbage dumping yards.

Residents also complain about traffic congestion - which is an everyday affair in their locality. “During peak hours, Marathahalli Ring Road witnesses heavy traffic jams. It takes almost twenty minutes to enter this road from our gate. Its very problematic,” said Uma Shivakumar, resident of Paramount Raghavendra Arisht Apartments.

Housewife Geetha Vasant is also fed up with traffic snarls in Marathahalli. “We need immediate deployment of traffic police personnel wherever road dividers exist on the Ring Road, to enable smooth flow of traffic, and to avoid vehicle pile-ups. It will make life much easier for residents.”