Techies’ area in Bangalore has many black spots

Marathahalli, once a periphery, has today the distinction of being the residential headquarters of the young techie brigade. It is where most of the IT wiz kids live and also work.

Its proximity to HAL Airport, Whitefield, Sarjapur Road and Electronic City and the presence of the Outer Ring Road, has made it a self-sufficient township.

Its transport accessibility is the best in the city. Every luxury bus passes this junction. Every five minutes, you get a bus to major centres of the city. It has also become a fashion hub — every branded item is available in its numerous shops.

Its proximity to Whitefield railway station and locational advantage for reaching the new international airport via countless Volvos passing the area make it another preferred locality for the ‘knowledge’ population. It has many places for a decent hangout and restaurants to choose varied foods.

And yet, the place slipped from the 13th position in 2009 to 18th in the DNA-Az survey 2010. The reasons, as residents say, are not clear.

“We still have the facilities you noted last year, though population has increased,” says Ramesh Tarneja, a team leader with a BPO multinational company in Whitefield. Rajan Kanda, a corporate honcho, agrees fully, “The place offers a peaceful living. It ought to have been ranked higher.”

But others point out the flaw. “Lack of good education centres and full-fledged hospitals and sporting facilities are some of the black spots. Lack of greenery in the core of Marathahalli is another drawback.  Besides MGA, there are no super speciality hospitals,” says M Mookaya, a software engineer.  

“Water scarcity is another issue. Most of the time, we use bore well water. We frequently face power shortage. It is a good junction, yes, but there is not a single good bus shelter. This makes people run around when a bus comes,” says Mookaya.

Compared to Indiranagar and Tippasandra, Marathahalli fares poorer. There are no proper street lights either,” he adds.

A shop owner at Marathahalli bus stop says the locality has no wired connection but only wireless connection. 

But people do not have many complaints about safety. “The only negative thing we notice here is frequent thefts of electronic goods,” says a young techie who lost his laptop to nightly marauders once.

“To be frank, I’m not satisfied with this place,” says Jaysheel Prasad, a placement manager. “I’m not surprised that Marathahalli has come down in ranking,” he says.

The place is overdeveloped and is very expensive to live.
“We have been residing here for the past three years and have not faced any water problem as we get borewell water. But we often experience power cuts. The area is safe, but the roads are not so well maintained. Garbage pile-up and stray menace are other issues,” says Jaysheel.