Misery along Old Airport Road

Misery along Old Airport Road
— Aparajitha Ray
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: While earmarking Zero Garbage Zones, the BBMP seems to have overlooked Old Airport Road. A long stretch here from the Intermediate Ring Road flyover to Kodihalli bus stop is a picture of neglect.
Last week, Palike workers dumped waste on footpaths and left many parts of sewage drains — slabs over which make for the footpaths — uncovered. A huge open drain below the three-tier flyover has caused problems for years together. The place stinks all the time, especially when it rains. Also, drain water from both sides of the sewage lines flow onto the road.
Small mounds of mud and garbage are seen under the part of the flyover that leads to Indiranagar. They have been here ever since the flyover was built. Corporation cleaners dump garbage on a nearby empty plot.
A witness to this, Biru Himmat Singh, said: “Every morning they clean the footpath and dump garbage in a plot behind Kodihalli bus stop. The land owner has never visited the spot.”
Small huts and make-shift shops have also encroached upon the plot; there is no construction activity going on. There are many commercial buildings, including a high-end hotel, on this stretch. Regular commuters say the stench due to heaps of garbage every half a kilometre or so is unbearable.
Satavisa Biswas, who walks from the flyover to the next junction every day, said: “These heaps of garbage make it difficult to walk. Moreover, the flyover area stinks due to the open drain. Footpaths are also broken at many spots.”
BBMP chief engineer (east) Jai Chandra said: “We are marking places and will soon take up these areas to make them Zero Garbage Zones. Work in this area is scheduled to start in a month. As of now, no one has reported about any encroachments in this ward.”