KNOW YOUR CONSTITUENCY

KNOW YOUR CONSTITUENCY

MAHALAKSHMI LAYOUT
Mahalakshmi Layout is one of Bangalore’s new constituencies that have been created after the delimitation drive. The area is identified with a strong spiritual flavour, thanks to the various places of worship that dot the layout. The presence of the Iskcon temple in the neighbourhood only adds to this reputation.
One of the traditional residential pockets of old Bangalore, Mahalakshmi Layout — in its new shape as an assembly constituency — comprises six Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards of Nandini Layout, Mahalakshmipuram, Nagapura, Kamalanagar, Geleyarabalaga and Vrushabhavathinagar. The wards used to be parts of the Rajajinagar, Yelahanka and Uttarahalli constituencies.
With more than two lakh voters spread over 169 parts forming the Mahalakshmi Layout electorate, the constituency could be classified as one of the important residential areas during this election. The area has in the last couple of decades emerged as a top business location as well, with hundreds of shops opening across the core areas. Locations that are close to Iskcon, West of Chord Road and Nandini Layout have seen major changes in their population mix. The residents, though, aren’t really disgruntled with the way the area has developed.
They maintain that proper planning that had gone into the development of the layout decades ago has saved the day, even in the face of fast commercialisation. Businesses across the spectrum — from top-of-the-line multinational companies to pavement chaat stalls — continue to thrive here but the boom has not translated, as in other developed areas, into major infrastructure bottlenecks.
Roads and water supply have not been major causes of worry for residents in the layout, but they caution that with the everchanging demography of the a re a ,
things won’t be the same for long.
While Chord Road has almost been a showpiece stretch for Mahalakshmi Layout, the ride is not quite smooth in some of the fringe pockets of the constituency. Old-timers in the residential areas of the layout say that the rise in vehicular traffic has led to sound pollution, something the layout had never witnessed earlier.
Though the traffic situation in many parts of the layout is moving towards chaotic proportions, residents reason that the rise in vehicular movement was a given, considering that the core areas bustle with commercial activity.
The constituency, while housing colonies and layouts (BEML Layout and KHBS Layout among them) also has the Rajajinagar and Yeshwantpur industrial suburbs in its fold. Prime locations like Basaveshwaranagar stand testimony to the real estate boom that the locality has witnessed in the past few years.
Since the area is close to other residential hubs like Rajajinagar and Malleshwaram, the realty feel-good has been quite evenly spread out across the core areas of the layout. A good number of workers in the Peenya industrial area have also settled down in houses and apartments in Mahalakshmi and Nandini layouts.
Major areas
Marappanapalya, Nandini Layout, Kurubarahalli, Katemarenahalli, Shankarnagar, Saraswathipuram, Basaveshwaranagar, Rajajinagar industrial suburb, Kamakshipalya
Landmarks
Anjaneya Swamy temple, Venkateshwara temple, Panchamukhi Ganapathi temple, Rajajinagar industrial suburb, RMC Yard
PROBLEMS Earlier
Bad roads, erratic disposal of garbage
Now
Rise in vehicular traffic, sound pollution PULAKESHI NAGAR
Tzhe erstwhile Frazer Town, renamed Pulakeshinagar ward, has now become a new assembly segment. Formerly a British colony, Frazer Town still boasts of a drain culvert remnant of the British Raj.
Pulakeshinagar has a mix of upper middle class and middleclass population including some Anglo-Indian colonies. A part of the Cantonment, Pulakeshinagar was one of the most posh localities in Bangalore east zone. However, as the area grew, it gave rise to haphazard development with slum pockets.
Traffic has always been a bane of this area. Earlier, it used to be the chaos at Frazer Town road under bridge which was a small vent. During peak hours, vehicles would get clogged. As a solution, the civic authorities provided one more vent, but the problem has not solved to a great extent.
However, residents are also putting up with the vehicle pile up at the bridge near Bangalore east railway station. Since the bridge is narrow, traffic is a bad scene there.
Another eye sore is near Wheeler Road where traffic chaos reigns supreme due to the flyover. The Lingarajpuram flyover over the railway track was built to curb people crisscrossing near the track, but it has failed to serve its purpose. The road beneath the flyover has not been tarred.
Sagaayapuram is a cluster of underdeveloped pockets which is primarily a vote bank. The elected representatives have hardly done anything to develop this area.
Politicians come and go. But none have been successful in getting the slaughter house shifted from Tannery Road to the outskirts where the land has been identified. Every day, drains near slaughter house have red-coloured water; the blood and animal remains are let into the drains which are polluting the area. Unbearable stink in the surroundings has made the life of residents miserable. Since the vegetable vendors refuse to use the market located close to the slaughter house, they are all squatted on the pavement, obstructing pedestrian movement.
On the other hand, Frazer Town is a preferred locality due to its proximity to the city centre. Over the last few years after Bangalore has seen the IT boom, this area has seen influx of software and BPO employees.
Several residents associations have been actively involved in mitigating the areas’ problems and thanks to them, some of the works like garbage disposal and daily cleaning have been streamlined.
Major areas
HBR Layout, P and T Colony, Dinnur, Kaval Byrasandra, Devarajeevanahalli, Sagaayapuram, Pulakeshinagar, Cleveland Town
Landmarks
Holy Ghost Church, Richard’s Town, ITI tech park, Frazer Town underbridge
PROBLEMS
Earlier and Now
Traffic congestion due to narrow bridges and roads, slum pockets, irregular water supply

West of chord road




Tannery Road