BBMP blames bad roads on Telangana dispute

The clay path that leads to Hennur Garden

By Christopher Isaac

BANGALORE (Dec. 6)—Residents of Hennur Gardens, a residential suburb in north Bangalore, have been living without proper roads for over a year and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore’s municipal corporation, is blaming the Telangana issue for it.

Ten years ago, this area was prime location for people looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, with well-laid tar roads and underground sewage.

Prakash Ulaal, a retired IT professional who lives in the colony, says problems started when the Bangalore Water Supply & SewerageBoard (BWSSB) started laying pipes and widening drains four years ago.

“They [the BWSSB] started laying pipes for the Cauvery water project,” Prakash said, “They dug up the roads, and instead of making a fresh tar road, they just leveled the road with clay.”

Even so, the residents started facing real problems only once the BWSSB started widening the drains about a year ago.
K. Matthew, another resident and retired bank manager, said, “Only about 50 percent of the work has been done, and they don’t turn up to work any more. Roads are just left like that.”

The area dug up by the side of the road left untouched by the BWSSB

The corresponding ward’s councillor from the BBMP, Govindaraju, said: “The delay is because of the Hyderabad-Telangana strike, which put the supply of sand on hold. We will start work from next Monday.”However, Prakash begs to differ, saying that that even though the councillor visits the area regularly and promises to do up the roads, no one ever turns up to lay fresh roads in the area.

“He always says they’ll start the work ‘next Monday,’ giving petty excuses,” Prakash said.

Aanchal Shrivastava, an undergraduate photography student living in the area said: “The roads are the worst when it rains. And when it doesn’t, the dust that’s lifted by the breeze and vehicles is just unbearable.