Death too fails to jolt BBMP out of slumber on Kumbaragundi Road

Over a month ago, a 45-year-old rag picker died when he fell into an open storm water drain (SWD) in the city. The incident, however, did not seem to be a wake-up call for the Palike authorities.

The sorry state of affairs at Kumbaragundi Road, running perpendicular to JC Road and an important connection to KR Market, Vidyaranyapura, Wilson Garden, and nearby places, is a visible reminder of the civic authority’s negligence.

Right next to the Silver Jubilee Park police station, the SWD has been left open by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) since March, after the drain was blocked and rain water leaked onto the roads nearby.

“We have filed an FIR against the engineer and the contractor. We have sent a number of letters to the BBMP and have even asked them for information on what is happening, but there has been no response from them,” said a police officer, on conditions of anonymity.

As soon as the drain was dug up, a JCB was brought to remove the blockage. “After that, there has been no work at the drain at all. Soon after the rag-picker died, a makeshift pathway was made for people to walk across. They did not have to do much work,” he said.

One look at the pathway reveals that this too is not free of danger. Apart from the fact that the pathway is just about wide enough for a bike to pass through, the rubble and stones lying around make it easy for someone to trip and fall right into the drain.

A chat with shopkeepers in the area revealed their exasperation with the civic authorities. “How long does it take to clear a drain? It has been six months since the drain was opened. There has been no work at all since then,” said Manjunath K of Krishna Roadways, an automotive spare parts shop located right next to the drain.

When the shopkeepers questioned the contractor about the pending work, he said that there were plans to cover up the drain with stone slabs, but they were not available. “Shouldn’t they have checked the availability of slabs and other materials before digging up the road?”asked Manjunath.

“Nowadays, the contractor does not even visit this place. Apparently, he has contracts of similar nature in three or four other places and this one doesn’t seem to be a priority for him,” he added.

“Most of the shops here sell automobile items that are heavy and require transportation. But because it is so hard to go through this road, customers prefer other places and my business has fallen by at least 40%,”said a dealer, adding that the Kumbagundi Road was important link as it took away most of the traffic from the surrounding areas.

“Now the entire burden of the traffic falls on NR Road and JC Road, resulting in traffic congestion here,” he said.

“In case of an emergency, if we were to use a vehicle to get to the other side of the road, we have to waste about 6 km, as we have to pass through six signals. This takes anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. If the road was accessible, we would have passed through the stretch in less than five minutes,” said a policeman.

“Besides this trouble, just being in the station is difficult because of the stench from the drain and the mosquitoes at night. This place is a health hazard,” he added.

An official at the BBMP said that the work will be completed within a month. “The structure needs certain elements, which need to be manufactured. It is being manufactured on Double Road. About 26 elements go into the manufacturing of the entire structure. Each element requires about a day to manufacture. We will need about 16 days to make these and a week for casting,” he said.