Life in a CESSPOOL

Life in a CESSPOOL
They hop, skip and jump to get around. Residents of Madinanagar in Bangalore South, unlike in the rest of the constituency, are a neglected lot. They have no roads, drinking water or drains. Are the powers-that-be listening?
S Kushala | TNN

Bangalore: They’re the ‘Sahukararu’ (the richest) of the area but live in a makeshift house on the first floor. Six months ago, their ground-floor house, hailed as the best in the area, was inundated and now it’s a sanitary cesspool.
Dhanalakshmi hops, skips and jumps on the stones, trying to negotiate her way through the mess to open the door of her house. “We’ve left everything and gone to stay upstairs. All the expensive gadgets are rotting. Who will listen to us? The BBMP authorities never come here. The MLA has only assured he’ll help us. We are helpless. Even if we want to sell the house, people will pay a pittance. At our age, how can my husband and I go hunting for a house?” says Dhanalakshmi, who often suffers from swelling of the joints and skin problems due to living amid the muck.
We’re not in some
back-of-beyond remote place of the state but in Madinanagar, off Hosur Road. It’s in the Bommanahalli assembly constituency, and the most backward area in Bangalore South parliamentary constituency. Many slums are better-off than Madinanagar. Until a few months ago, the 1 lakh residents here had not even seen their elected representatives. Authorities have not visited this place.
The scene is truly dismal. There are no roads but muddy pothole-ridden stretches. There is no clean drinking water; the tiny water pipes meander through open sullage canals. There is no underground drainage or even garbage collection.
Strangely, people here have been voting for the Congress which hasn’t won the assembly elections at all. They hadn’t allowed BJP candidates to even enter the area to campaign. The BJP MLAs and residents don’t have any dialogue. Now, things are looking up and the MLA started visiting just before the LS polls were announced.
The adjacent Begur lake and lack of drains are the root cause. No garbage collector comes to the area and muck is strewn all around. “The councillor of the CMC never came by. We have not seen our former MLA R Ashok’s face,” say residents.
Kanakapura MP Tejaswini came only once when it poured heavily in 2005. “The scene is so bad that when it rains, we have to shift to the roof as there’s 5 feet of water which takes days on end to clear,” explains Zareen Taj.
Perhaps contestants Ananth Kumar, Krishna Byregowda and K E Radhakrishna of the three major parties, or even independent candidate Capt. Gopinath in Bangalore South can offer something more than promises to Madinanagar.
Forgotten PEOPLE Madinanagar is just 2 km off Ring Road connecting HSR Layout
Has a population of 1 lakh, mostly Muslimdominated, with 23,000 voters
Lacks every basic amenity — roads, drinking water, garbage collection and drains
Was under Uttarahalli assembly segment, now under Bommanahalli assembly and Bangalore South MP constituencies
Was under erstwhile Bommanahalli CMC, now under BBMP
People live amid a sanitary cesspool
Cholera, TB, gastroenteritis and skin problems are common here
Woman power It worked its magic in Madinanagar. The veiled Muslim women, once confined to their homes, are out on the streets today. They were instrumental in starting a dialogue with MLA Satish Reddy. “Residents were angry with the MLA. We went to meet him and initiated talks to visit our area. We requested Reddy not to hold anything against us as it’s a matter of development of the place. Now, he is taking utmost interest,” says Shabana, a resident
Piled-up garbage is just one of the problems in Madinanagar. A family is forced to live on the first floor after their ground floor was inundated six months ago. The nearby Begur lake, coupled with lack of a proper drainage system, is the root cause