Stinking drains: Main concern of Ramamurthy nagar residents in Bangalore

A developing area with its own problems made it to the 24th place in the survey ranking. Many plans remain on paper. Yet, residents, who have seen the panchayat days, seem quite happy. 

Drainage is the main problem that residents in this locality point out. They want their MLA Nandish Reddy to focus on this issue first. The stink it raises in many parts of the area is sickening, says Thulasidasan Vylathoor, a resident and developer.

Absence of good schools and colleges is another issue people face. The ill-maintained, 30-year-old overbridge at the entry point to ring road is a disaster waiting to happen, says he. 

However, on the garbage front, things are working. Kitchen waste is collected almost every day. But the timing is irregular and people are harassed because nobody can predict when the pick-up autos will come.

“We cannot go on waiting for the autos to come at their own sweet time,” says an angry homemaker Soudhamini Amma.

Though public transport is not a problem, the main roads are narrow. So every time two buses cross, it results in a jam. Also, the main roads need speed-breakers, says Naveen, a student and resident.

“Development has been going on. But we still have many problems to take care of. Water is one such. Main roads are ok, but inner roads are in bad shape. They have to be urgently looked into,” says he. 

“The waywardness of the BBMP is evident from that it has not even collected the assessment tax. No wonder our complaints come back with one response: no funds. Sewage pipelines need to be given a thought as they cannot be left just like that,” says BS Ruddrappa, former corporator.

The locality has been developed in an unscientific way as 75% of the colonies have dead ends. This is because each layout goes banging into the backyard of a house of another layout, says CP Radhakrishna, president of Kerala Sangha.

“We had paid the amount that was collected in the name of Cauvery water connection fee two years back but there is not a drop of it in the vicinity. When we spoke to the authorities, they said it would start next year,” says he.

Shopping complexes that have come up in the area have no parking space. So the roads take the brunt of buses, cars, two wheelers and pedestrians.

At the other end, Hoysala Nagar, which is highly populated, has narrow roads which cause pain to commuters, says Santosh, a software engineer.