Residents Are Not Pleased; Split Wards Confuse Them

New names galore
Residents Are Not Pleased; Split Wards Confuse Them
Aarthi R | TNN

Bangalore: Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar finally finds a place on the new list of BBMP ward names. He will replace Kaigarikanagar. Also, a part of good old Malleswaram will be named after the entire area’s origin, and a large chunk of legendary areas like Jayanagar and Pottery Town have been squeezed in as parts of relatively new and small ward names like Shankambarinagar and S K Garden.
A day after the final notification of BBMP wards was issued, Bangaloreans are now getting used to the new names and altered boundaries. A few who like it, and those who don’t are trying hard to get used to it. And there are also a few still not willing to accept the new ward name and
boundaries.
MALLESWARAM
‘Cut in the waistline’ and still split into eight wards — residents of Malleswaram are now trying hard to get used to the new configurations more than the new ward names.
“It’s nice to go back to the old names. But why has Kadu Malleshwara, which dates right back to the origin of entire Malleswaram, been used just to name one part of the area?’’ asks Dr Meenakshi Bharat, a resident welfare association member. A few other residents of Malleswaram also expressed problems with the changed configurations. “Notification is fine, so are the names. But it’s so difficult to sketch out the boundaries,’’ they said.
Another problem they’ve listed out is the area being split at 15th cross. Theareas above this belong to ward 45 and those below to ward 65. “Where is the correlation? They must have some logic but that hasn’t been explained to us. I just hope the booths are also not split. Imagine a situation where people want to vote but don’t know which ward of Malleswaram they belong to? All residents of the new ward must have access to the new map with altered boundaries,’’ suggested one of the residents.
JAYANAGAR
Meanwhile ward 179 that was earlier Jayanagar 5th Block has now changed to Shakambarinagar. The new change has not been too well received by many residents and even the Jayanagar MLA N Vijayakumar. “Even while naming a child, we look into so much background. But the naming of a
few wards seems to be completely isolated from its background,’’ he said. “We had earlier submitted a suggestion to the draft notification that the ward be called Jayanagar West as it also included Jayanagar 8th Block. But now, we are all under a relatively new area,’’ complains N Mukund, a member of Jayanagar 5th Block residents’ association. “We will be submitting a memorandum to the government shortly,’’ he said.
POTTERY TOWN
Residents of Pottery Town have almost given up hope. “It’s unfair to have a larger and legendary area like Pottery Town under a new area like SK Garden. We had also filed our objection to the draft notification. But in vain. However, our main concern now is to have the elections,’’ ex corporator Pradeep Kumar Reddy told The Times of India.