Drain, miseries overflow at City's commercial hub

Drain, miseries overflow at City's commercial hub
By S Lalitha, DH News Service, Bangalore:
The Old Tharagupet Main Road in Chickpet is known as the City's garment hub. It is also one of the entrance points for the landmark Lal Building, which houses export surplus material, and is frequented by the brand-conscious crowd.

But just a minute’s visit to this congested road - which is carpeted with overflowing drain water, slush, floating garbage and lined with lorries and tempos - makes for a nauseating experience.

No wonder the garment and spice businessmen here, numbering nearly 200, are furious with the BBMP, BWSSB and the police for sorry state of affairs in the locality. For any shopper in the right frame of mind would rethink wading through the stinking water to shop in their establishments.

“The drain has been overflowing for nearly three months now, but no department bothers to take action,” said a garment businessman. The road also has an overflowing manhole. One end of the road, which touches the B V K Iyengar road, is on an elevated level. This ensures that water remains stagnant near the manhole. “It is horrible to walk on the street. I just cannot describe how this place is when it rains,” said another garment dealer.

The heavy vehicles that position themselves along one side of the road from dawn to dusk eat up road space and are a curse to our business, the merchants chorus. The vehicles are employed by the make-shift parcel offices located along the footpaths. These ‘couriers’ take orders to transport petty goods (including garments) to different districts. Traders complain that carelessly discarded package material adds to their woes.

‘We’ll set things right’
A top BWSSB official stated that the department would initiate measures instantly to redress the problems. “The roads are congested and shoulder drains are not in place in the entire area,” he said. Chikkarayappa, BBMP Chief Engineer (Storm Water Drains), said, “There is a problem related to water flow there and our engineers are working on ways to take care of it. A solution can be expected in a fortnight.”

A top police official said that police regularly booked the drivers of tempos and autos that used the stretch as a parking lot. “But what can you do when they return the next day?” he queried. “There is no parking lot in this unplanned part of Old Bangalore. We also face pressure from politicians to release the vehicles we book,” he alleged.

(All names have been withheld on request.)