Dealing with water issues

BANGALORE: The residents of Mallasandra Ward have to think twice before standing in front of their homes, thanks to the drains that are choked with garbage and silt.Mallasandra, being one of the newly added wards of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), needs immediate attention of authorities concerned as far as the civic amenities such as under ground drainage, water and clearing of garbage are concerned. The BBMP had sanctioned ` 5 crore to take up various development works in Mallasandra Ward. Corporator R P Shashi says, “Funds were spent to construct a ward office, strengthen drains and concretising roads. However, most of the funds sanctioned last year have been spent, and we are waiting for more funds to take up various development works. Recent BBMP Council meet had allocated ` 3 crore for Mallasandra Ward but we are yet to receive the funds.”Areas such as Rajanna Layout, Ravindra Nagar, Mathru Layout, Aiyyappa Layout, BHEL Mini Layout, Prashanth Nagar and Muneswara Block are the important localities of Mallasandra Ward. There is acute shortage for drinking water in some of the localities of this ward. For example, most of the borewells dug up at BHEL Mini Layout last year failed to yield water. “We have to supply water to the BHEL Mini Layout from the borewells dug up in other areas,’’ adds Shashi. Many people at various localities allege that Corporator Shashi has been neglecting them and never bothered to visit their area to find out whether basic amenities were provided or not. “I have never seen Corporator Shashi visiting our area. We get water once in a week. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has taken up laying of underground drainage pipes but the work is progressing at a snail’s pace,’’ says M Anand, a resident of 7th Cross, Mallasandra.Echoing similar opinion, B K Chandravathy, a housewife, says, “The need of the hour is to clean up the open drains and cover the drains with concrete slabs.” There are many vacant sites full of parthenium weeds. The residents complain that pourakarmikas were not regular in clearing the garbage. “I have complained to the BBMP authorities about the nuisance of weeds on a vacant site adjacent to my house. They did not  bother even to send pourakarmikas to clear the weeds,’’ says Kalandhar, a resident of Old Junjappa Temple Road.However, Corporator Shashi mentions that there is a shortage of manpower to keep Mallasandra Ward clean. “We have only one contractor and eight workers to clean the open drains. We need two more contractors and 20 men for the entire Ward to clean the open drains,’’ said Shashi.The Corporator says, “I will take measures to mitigate the water woes. The BWSSB dug up 25 borewells last year and some of them failed to yield water. Two borewells are under repair. I have requested the BBMP to  sanction 10 more borewells this year. There is a proposal to dig borewells at Prashanth Nagar, Ravindra Nagar and BHEL Mini Colony.”