Decent roads, castles in the air

Decent roads, castles in the air
CHANDRASHEKAR G.
BENGALURU


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"The plight of Castle Street is very sad. I have been appealing to BBMP engineers to get the work done and have summoned the contractor Mylegowda to Castle Steet to ask him to complete the job, but he has been evasive. Since the BBMP Budget has not yet been tabled, I find it difficult to get the work done" .

K. Shivakumar, Shanthala Nagar corporator "Castle Street and surrounding areas were part of the erstwhile Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. The underground drainage (UGD) system here is very old and gets frequently blocked, giving off a stench in .
the locality" N. Govindaraj, retired employee "The BBMP must complete laying the road so that we don't have to put up with traffic jams all the time. The road becomes even more unfit for use when it rains. Merely stocking jelly cannot help, the work needs to be done" . M.V. Vijeth, call centre employee

Residents of Cas tle Street and surrounding areas are fed up as they are having to put up with a street that has been lying dug up for over a year after the Bescom decided to lay a 11 KV power line in the area. Mud and jelly stones meant for repairing it, lie strewn on the sides of the road, while the contractor concerned plays truant.
Repeated complaints to BBMP engineers and the corporator to relay the road have brought no results, complain the angry residents. Vice-president of the St. Sebastian Association K E K Dominic says although the Shantinagar zone pays the highest property tax to the BBMP, the civic amenities at its disposal are pathetic.
"The contractor who has been entrusted with the work of relaying the road remains evasive. The dust from the dug up road has been causing environmental pollution and people are suffering from respiratory and bronchial problems as a result," he says. The contractor who has been given the job of repairing the road has a reputation for delaying projects, according to him. "He has been blacklisted from taking up new projects in the BBMP," Mr Dominic adds, wondering when the people of Castle Street will get a proper road in these circumstances.

The other grouse of the people is that Castle Street has become a semi-residential area due to the mushrooming of commercial activities, snatching away their peace.Garbage collection is another sore point with them, as the BBMP seems to be doing little to remove the heaps of rubbish that accumalate with regularlity at street corners.

"The garbage has been attracting stray dogs and cows, which cause near accidents on the roads as they are always in the way of motorists and other vehicles," complain the people. If you face any problems on the street where you live that need to be highlighted in Deccan Chronicle, email editorblr@ deccanmail.com