BANGALORE: Cubbon Park, located in the heart of the city, represents a part of the rich history of Karnataka. But as Bangalore prepared for the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) 10K Marathon with enthusiasm and fervour, Cubbon Park was a let down. Instead of the lush greenery and fresh air, they were greeted with filth and the stench emanating from the overflowing sewage near the Mahatma Gandhi Circle.The junction where MG Road meets Kasturba Road has a sewage drain that is overflowing. The gush of the sewage water was such that Queen’s Road, MG Road as well as Kasturba road were seen in the state of a mini pool with an overwhelming foul odour.Over 25,000 participants of the run had to endure this as well as the foul odour due to no action from the authorities. The run witnessed the best marathon runners and actors. The runners included the likes of Gul Panag, Rahul Bose, Kenya’s Micah Kogo, Titus Mbishei, Asslefech Mergia of Ethiopia and Hilda Kibet. Also, Queen’s Road, which leads to General Post Office (GPO), was unceremoniously dumped with garbage at frequent points adding to the mess. The area was part of the Open 10K route, Majja run as well as the World 10K route.A runner at the race, Sudipti P, spoke to City Express about her experience of the race. She said, “I took part in the 10k run. It is our chance to showcase Bangalore on an international level. The weather was also perfect. But the sewage problems near Cubbon Park was really awful. The stench was hard to bear.”. Several pedestrians were also seen struggling to cross the roads due to the flow of the dirty water on the road. “I came to the city for the marathon. The condition of the road was really bad. The area was very smelly and messy,” said actress, Gul Panag.Regular visitors were not happy to see this state of Cubbon Park. A visitor of the park said, “I love coming here because of the greenery. I take a walk around here on Sundays.and also take my kids on the toy train and go home. But the area needs to be cleaned up immediately. When Bangalore holds an event like this (the marathon) the authorities need to make sure that the area is clean and void of any filth or litter that could hamper the participant’s performance.”City Express contacted Shivram, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) engineer-in-chief for the area. He said, “It is a repeated problem. It is a slope and despite us continuously working on it, it causes problems. If it was a flat land, it would not have caused hassles such as this. I didn’t expect it to break open today.” He also assured that the drain would be covered up by today afternoon.
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