Of sewerage stench, splash, seething commuters

BANGALORE: Crossing the arterial junction of F M Cariappa Road and Museum Road became a loathsome experience for commuters on Thursday, blame it on sewerage flowing there from a nearby private college.Kshitij Uthappa, who works in an office near the junction, said sewerage had been trickling out for around a week now. He said initially he thought it was fault of the city water board but it turned out that the filth was seeping out of a pipe in the college.The stench on Museum Road became unbearable after 2.30 pm. A traffic police officer deputed at the junction said on an average, more than 100 vehicles cross the junction every five minutes.As the vehicles, coming from Hosur Road and Richmond Road, were crossing the junction, they were splashing sewerage, adding to the sickening feeling at the area.One person likened the scene to standing in a public urinal. People said those who were riding two-wheelers were the worst sufferers as they could escape neither the stench nor the splash. Some students told Express that sewerage had been leaking for sometime now but the extent of leakage on Thursday was the worst.An official from Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) said there was a block in the pipeline of the private college because of which the leakage was taking place. The official said it was the responsibility of the college to clear the blockage.Nevertheless, the water board official added, they would approach the college authorities to clear the blockage at the earliest because the situation was causing trouble to people.The college authorities were not available for comments.