Town still breathes fresh air

Town still breathes fresh air
DH News Service
It is far from the madding crowd. Wide roads, vast parks, lakes make a living in Yelahanka New Town a pleasant experience. It is still referred to as a paradise of the retired people.

Fresh air is still available to inhale though number of vehicles is increasing gradually in the locality. Thanks to greenery and the enough lung space. Karnataka Housing Board developed Yelahanka New Town in an area of 262.34 sq hectare in 1970s. As much as 14.5 per cent of the total land was allocated for parks. There are 34 parks in the layout.

Ten years ago the new town was not crowded as it is today. Then the place was known for theft and robberies. Residents with the help of the local police started patrolling during night with lathis. Over the years, as population density increased in the locality, number of robberies also came down.

But residents of the locality, particularly those living there for decades, are experiencing the change. “When we came here to settle we thought we are far from the madding crowd. But now we are becoming part of such crowd. On the one hand, we are happy because we are within the limits of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike. On the other we are upset as our town is also becoming part of the so called IT city”, M S Vaidyanathan, General Secretary, Yelahanka New Town Citizens Forum said.

The town is home for retired persons who held high positions in private and public sectors. Those retired as senior officers in defence services, top rank officers in nationalised banks, executive engineers have chosen the town to spend rest of their life.

Mr K B Naidu, President of Citizens Forum and retired Deputy General Manager of BEL, feels that shopping malls add up congestion in the locality. “Within a year a shopping mall with a cinema hall and 300 shops is coming up. That will spoil serenity of our locality. But what to do, the younger generation needs that. We have to accept the change”, he said.

As many as 44 trains (both passenger and goods) pass through the Yelahanka railway station every day. Road connecting Yelahanka with Bangalore City will be blocked at the crossing for about 20 minutes every hour. We have been urging the Railway Department to construct an underpass or a railway over bridge to facilitate easy movement of the traffic. But so far we have not received any positive response”, Sqn Ldr (retd) C D A Rao said.
Yelahanka New Town is surrounded by Puttenahalli tank. Tank area was the best place for morning walkers. Rare birds were seen in the area. But the tank has lost its attraction due to poor maintenance.

Posh layout
Judicial layout is one of the posh layouts located within the limits of Byatarayanapura zone. Spread over 189 acres comprises over 2,500 sites, owned by judges officers of judiciary. It is quite far from the busy IT capital. Seldom vehicles are seen on the roads.

“When I bought a 60X40 sq ft site in the judicial layout in 1992 I paid Rs 80,000 including the registration fee. Now, you believe it or not, vacant site of same measurement in the layout costs Rs 70 lakh”, said S D Venkataramaiah, Assistant Registrar (retd) Karnataka High Court.

The price of the properties has shot up. But residents are not getting Cauvery water. Laying pipeline for Cauvery water supply has begun. However there is still a long way to go.

“Our layout, no doubt, is a posh area. It houses many senior officers of judiciary. But we don’t have post office, nor BESCOM bill collection centre. Most of the residents are senior citizens. But for any emergency medical facility we have to travel to Bangalore City”, Mr Venkataramaiah said.


Yelahanka New Town

The town was conceived as a satellite town of Bangalore. Karnataka Housing Board formed the layout in 1970s. There are 10,000 houses, with population close to 60,000. The total area of the township is 262.34 acres. The layout was maintained by KHB till 2001. Later it was handed over to Yelahanka CMC and now it is part of BBMP.


VOICES FROM YELAHANKA

When we came to Yelahanka to settle down in 1985 the area was very beautiful. There were no vehicles, not many shops. Taking a stroll in the locality itself was a pleasant experience. After I went out of State for
my studies I have been visiting whenever I got vacations. Whenever I came here I found new things. Now it is too crowded. Many shops have come up. As the town is just 20-km from the proposed International
Airport the development is going haywire.

Varsha Achar,
Student, Ahmedabad

More than 60,000 people are living in Yelahanka New Town. But there is no community hall. A site allotted for the hall has been given to a private firm to start a school. As the area is close to International Airport floating population in the locality has also increased. Public toilet is a minimum requirement of a locality. Besides we need a library.

K Gangadhar Shetty,
Rtd Bank officer

Originally Yelahanka new town was meant for residential purpose. But these days many commercial establishments are coming up. Surprisingly many people have started renting out their residents for commercial purposes. This is highly condemnable.

Y S Satyanarayan,
Engineer (Retd),
Dept. of Space (ISRO)

I have been living in Yelahanka New Town for the past 11 years. It is a quiet place. As the area is close to International Airport, it is a happening place. New shops, business establishments are coming up. Now it is too crowded. But one has to accept it. Change is integral part of development.

Ashok Kamath,
Managing Trustee,
Akshara Foundation (NGO)