Plagued with many issues

BANGALORE: In the midst of the ever growing Indiranagar lies this marginally small locality of Michael Palya whose residents are requesting the authorities to take notice of the fact that the area is deteriorating day by day. The presence of extremely narrow roads leave no space for the pedestrians to walk on. Empty plots seem to be the only venue where they can dispose garbage. Manholes make the streets dangerous to drive on. The residents say that despite numerous complaints to the authorities, no action has been taken to work on them.Narrow roadsThe locality is formed by the inter-junction of cramped  and tapering roads with no footpaths for the pedestrians to walk on. These constricted roads are further in certain points blocked by slabs of stone. Sand from the nearby construction sites also make it trecherous to tred on. Rini, a pedestrian, said, “I wait for 15 minutes everyday just to cross this particular road. The peril they pose to passerby’s such as me is being callously disregarded by the authorities.”  Some roads in the area here are as narrow as eight feet, which could technically accommodate just one Bangalore Metro Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus only. Traffic jams are a common sight. Residents disclosed that most of the incoming traffic was mainly due to the fact that vehicles saw this as an escape route from the traffic to reach 80 Feet Road, Indiranagar. The local residents association had once blocked the road for this sort of unauthorised entry of vehicles but the BBMP officials of the area removed the barrier. A resident, Ramesh, questioned this act of the authorities. He said, “They do not do anything to stop these kinds of jams in a quiet residential area like ours and when we ourselves act to prevent it, it is objected by them.”ManholesManholes, potholes and pebbles strewn on the streets cause severe risk for most vehicles on the street. Most of them are beyond repair but the remaining few need immediate attention. Manholes are sometimes spotted in the centre of a street. Frequent rains increase the woes of the travelers. Speed-breakers need to be reconstructed as they are causing more harm than help. A motorist on the road, Puneet, informed City Express that due to the absence of streetlights minor accidents happen. The potholes only make the situation worse.Garbage problemSeveral undeveloped sites have been used by the residents as dumping grounds for their garbage. The residents say that they do not have proper garbage disposal centres which leads to them discarding the garbage in the empty sites. The stench emanating from the garbage is unbearable. The health hazards it can cause are many.OFC cable issueA resident of the area, Subhash Rao, voiced an inconvenience regarding Optic Fibre Cables (OFC)in the area. He said, “I had submitted a request to a top telecom company about avaling their services in my area. Despite attempting the same for more than two years, the process of laying the OFC’s were stopped less than 800 metres from my house.” He added that repeated efforts to get the connection went in vain.  The residents said that it was common knowledge among them that these service providers had to pay heavy charges to lay their cables. Due to this they had to stop the service.Authorities’ viewsThe local corporator of the ward, Shareef, said, “We will begin work on the problems faced by the residents immediately. The potholes will be covered up and we will find a way out for the traffic problems as well.” Upon inquiring about whether a renowned telecom company had sought permission to lay cables he said that no request of the sort had been made.