ROT SPOT

ROT SPOT
The pond on Venkatappa Art Gallery premises is a stagnant water body with decomposing leaves and litter. No one appears concerned enough to take action
— Sonal Naroth and Smriti Kumar

Bangalore: This is where artists like K K Hebbar, M F Hussain, Yusuf Arakkal, S G Vasudev and others display their works, and hundreds of art enthusiasts gather, as do tourists. The Venkatappa Art Gallery is also a heritage building, but its beauty spot — a small, artificial pond — is no work of art.
The pond has some stagnant water and lotus leaves in it, besides plastic bottles, chips and cigarette packets. A tree, which once enhanced the ambience around the pond, has fallen, and has not been removed for over a month now.
Yusuf Arakkal, whose paintings are often displayed here, rues the fact that the external ambience is not very aesthetic. “During the ‘70s, the pond was beautiful and I would frequent this gallery with other artists. But today, the pond looks very dirty and I blame the officials for it. It needs just five or six workers, who can clean it up in two days, I’m sure the pond will look good again.”
Though the path leading to the gallery is maintained well, visitors who cross the bridge are taken aback at the sight of the stagnating pond. It is clearly unhygienic, and none is tempted to sit by it to spend an evening. “The notion of public beauty is not taken seriously. It is believed that Rs 1.5 crore was spent on renovating the gallery. This money could have as well been spent on building a new gallery itself,” artist B S Desai said.
S G Vasudev, who frequently visits the gallery, says: “It is not right to blame the officials alone as they have done a lot to improve the condition of the pond. There may be some technical problems like the lack of movement of water. Also, people should be held responsible as most visitors to Cubbon Park also visit the art gallery and add to the litter.”
While this water body, situated on the prestigious Kasturba Road in the centre of the city, is an eyesore, a contrasting picture is the two acres of land adjacent to the art gallery. The landscaped lawn and waterfall here make for a pleasant sight. The horticulture department has also ensured that litter and garbage is removed.
WHAT A WASTE
Filth and silt has collected in the pond Sewage from Bal Bhavan flows into it Public litters the area Rs 1.5 cr spent on gallery renovation, pond untouched Needs to be cleaned up, sewage flow stopped

Littering public is responsible
Suresh Heblikar, environmentalist and film-maker says, “There are numerous reasons why this pond is not clean. Visitors to Bal Bhavan and Visvesvaraya Museum also visit the gallery and add to the litter in the place. Overcrowding makes the situation worse. “The reason for the stagnant water is the collection of leaves and muck in the pipelines that block the flow of water. Also, Bal Bhavan is at a higher elevation and sewage flows into the pond. The lack of funds is hardly a valid reason. The authorities are to be blamed for they have been negligent about the situation. To improve the situation, water and sewage flowing into the pond should be stopped. Earlier, rotten leaves would be cleaned out, but this has stopped. Desilting will help prevent blockage. “Signboards prohibiting littering should be placed near the pond and security should be strict. Fines should be imposed on visitors who litter, as it is sure way of changing people. They are spoiling what is a lovely locale.”