As business grows, their life becomes a hell in Bangalore

The Central Business District (CBD) of Bangalore comprises localities that come within a radius of six kilometres from Vidhana Soudha. Nearly 50% of the properties in the CBD area are residential with MG Road as its lifeline.

The DNA-AZ survey accorded it the 9th position and it fared much below Jayanagar, Indiranagar and other residential locales of Bangalore.

As concrete blocks keep mushrooming, residents living in big houses are moving out saying the place is not liveable any more. They now reside elsewhere in apartment complexes with more facilities.

The place ranks low in our survey due to the unavailability of fresh land parcels for building individual houses. Also land prices have soared making it impossible for individuals to buy a site.

“I stay near Brunton Road. Location-wise, it is an ideal place to live in. But ever since the metro work started, commuting has become a pain. As vehicle use inner roads to avoid congestion near metro  sites, we have to bear the noise and dust,” says Namita Gowda.

Diet and nutrition consultant Sheela Krishnaswamy thinks location is the biggest advantage for CBD.

“No area can beat it in terms of its location. It has excellent connectivity to all important places in Bangalore. All basic amenities are found here. The roads are fairly wide and there is a lot of oxygen in the air, thanks to the vast green belts, parks and lakes around,” says she.

“It is an ideal location to lead an active social life. And due to its proximity to many commercial centres, there is round-the-clock human activity in the area, making it relatively safer,” she adds.

But this Richmond Road resident is upset over frequent power cuts.

“We experience frequent power cuts despite being in a commercial hub. Also, the drinking water supplied by the corporation is not of great quality.  No wonder, our area has been pushed to number 9,” she says.

Justice MF Saldanha is a harsh critic of his locality.

“The planning process in the CBD is completely off the target. Every square foot of land is indiscriminately built on, without even sparing sufficient place for pedestrians to walk. When I moved into this area back in 1995, it was a pleasure staying here. Today, it is suffocation,” says he.

Corruption levels have peaked. Parking issues and encroachment of roads are common. In Church Street,  there are over 40 restaurants, not even sparing a little space for pedestrians. The residential areas of CBD are getting increasingly commercialised, he says.