A road to nowhere

A road to nowhere
Nina C George
Instead of benefiting by its proximity to the IT capital of the country, Chalakere, has paid a heavy price for the same...


It's tough to negotiate the stretch leading to Chalakere village. The bumpy, pothole-ridden stretch will leave you feeling rickety in the joints, not to speak of the creaky noises emanating from the vehicle by the time you have arrived at the destination.

Chalakere village is not in some god-forsaken place. The village with 6,000-odd houses literally abuts the City, lying as it does to next to the Outer Ring Road. But so abysmal is the state of civic amenities, that there appears to be nothing civil about this village.

Forget blacktop roads, most of them are not even macadamised properly. Even the smallest of the vacant plots, stand converted into impromptu garbage dumps spreading the stench through the locality.

There's no semblance of public transport in Chalakere. Autorikshaw drivers either refuse to ply on this road or extract a heavy fare from residents.

Instead of benefiting by its proximity to the IT capital of the country, Chalakere, has paid a heavy price for the same. The City's burgeoning population has not spared a cent of a land in Chalakere. Houses and shops have sprung up everywhere in the village. Encroachment and land-grabbing have become rampant.

"The Chalakere lake and the land beside it has been encroached upon by a politician who also runs a school in the same area. Illegal constructions are going on with impunity. There's no one to question the landgrabbers," says a resident who has been living in Chalakere for more than 30 odd years. She is sure that come what may, progress would skirt the village.

Sinclairs High School, which was started for the underprivileged children 20 years ago, has more than 2000 children studying in it now. "It's impossible to negotiate the roads when it rains. You can't ride or drive. Vehicles simply get stuck because of the bad condition of the roads," says school Principal Violet Paulraj.

The school authorities have done their bit to straighten the bumps. "We've bought at least three or four tractors of sand and bull dozers to level off the road but our efforts have gone in vain. When it rains, it's back to it's original form," says Violet.

K.Prabhakar who owns a stationery shop opposite the school, says the only reason he invested in the shop was because of the school. "I regret investing a huge amount of money. The shop is running at a loss. People hardly come to this place because of bad roads. The dust and dirt that the few vehicles that pass by kick up, damages the stationery we sell. It's hard to sell. Even the children from school refuse to buy from here," says Prabhakar.

Abdul Raseed, who supplies biscuits to small shops in the area, says, “the bad state of the roads and the stench from garbage dumps in this place makes me look for a pretext to avoid visiting this area. When it rains the drains overflow making it impossible to come this side. K Suresh Kumar, a carpenter who has been living here for three years says he has given up any hopes of any progress in this part of the City.

BBMP Jurisdiction

But there is light at the end of the tunnel for Chalakere, notwithstanding the skeptics. The entire village has been brought under the limits of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. The government has sanctioned Rs 22 lakhs to lay roads, drains and street lights in the area. It's been two months since the announcement on this, but work is yet to begin.

According to sources in the BBMP, this money will be used to buid two culverts, construct 750-meter long drains on either side of the main road to Chalakere, lay kerbstones on pavements spanning a length of 900 meters and blacktop 800-meter stretch of the main road between Royal Concord School to Chakalere village.

"Work has already begun near Hasanath college in Hennur Bande in near Chalakare, We hope to complete the entire work by the end of December," says an official with the BBMP.

Sources with the BBMP say that a proposal to develop 15 villages in Chalakere including Meghanapalya, Babusapalya, K Narayanpura, Mallapa Garden, Nanjappa garden, Kyalasanahalli, Gaddalahalli, Byrathi Bande and Nagareshwaranagenahalli, has been sent to the BBMP Commissioner.

"We have asked for an additional Rs 15 lakh to develop these areas. In Chalakare and surrounding villages priority will be given to constructing the drains before rain sets in. Street lights and sodium vapour lights will be installed at schools and hospitals in Chalakare," the official reveals.