Horamavu residents cry for basic facilities

Horamavu residents cry for basic facilities

Shwetha S



Residents of Horamavu located near Bansawadi and Outer Ring Road live in style in trendy apartments. But once they step out of them, lack of some basic infrastructure keeps troubling them.
Many of them, of mixed origin, settled here for easy access to the Bangalore International Airport which the Horamavu Road provides. They have shopping complexes to spend time and good schools for their wards. But the problem begins once they step on to the road.
It is potholed and poses a risk to road users, especially two-wheelers.
"Although Horamavu is a developed area, the civic infrastructure has not been able to keep pace with its growth. The road is gravelly and muddy. When it rains, the whole stretch turns slushy. The very sight of it makes one throw up. Every 100 meters, there is a big pothole. It is dangerous for two-wheelers to travel on this road during nights. My vehicle got punctured twice. There are chances that the vehicle may skid. We've complained about the pathetic condition of the road to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Till now, they have not even visited the place," Abhishek Tripati, a local resident, said.
Take a walk along the whole stretch. You cannot find a drain on either side of the road. When monsoon rains come in full fury, the road get flooded giving a hard time to motorists and pedestrians living in the area.
"The road is a huge mess during the rainy season. BBMP authorities have not made any arrangements to build drains on the road. So whenever it rains, there is no way for water to flow out. Water gets stagnated in front of our houses for days together. Vehicles cannot move on the flooded roads. Even pedestrians slip and fall as the road turns slushy. Our only request to the BBMP is to build drains on the road so that rain water flows out," Laxmi Nair, one of the residents, said.
A more serious problem the residents face is the lack of street lights.
"It's awful. During nights, it's difficult to move about. I ride on this road at mid-night despite knowing that it's risky. Anyone can mug me for nothing will be visible. One of my neighbour's gold chain was snatched as she was walking along the road. It's risky to move on this road alone. Street lighting is a major demand of the residents of Horamavu," Bishweswar Das, another resident, said.
Besides robbers preying on lone pedestrians, there is another enemy waiting in the dark to pounce on riders and residents: stray dogs.
"There are many dogs here that keep chasing bikers and pedestrians. This has become a big menace. We don't know what to do. Stray menace is posing a risk to our children. Somebody has to sort out the problem immediately," said K Siddharth, a resident.
"We want the BBMP to send their dog vans to our locality. There are so many strays moving about even during day time. The problem here is that residents are too decent and timid to react strongly to the palike officials. When we're paying the tax, we should get all basic civic amenities which other localities enjoy," he said. One thing is sure. When the residents came to settle in Horamavu, they were full of expectations. Now they feel their dreams shattered.