BENGALURU : While garbage issues have been causing a stir in the city, residents have also complained about another menacing matter: Sewage. After residents of Ejipura and Halasuru, now Koramangala residents have fallen prey to sewage blockage. Residents state that this has been ongoing for two months and despite repeated complaints, no action has been taken. “Ashwini Layout is stinking and because the area is a bit lower compared to other places in Koramangala, stagnated water gets collected up to one foot in front of our houses,” rued Prem Kumar, a resident of 15 years.

 Residents added that the drainage issue  did not exist five years ago. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had temporarily installed an ISPS (Intermediate Sewage Pumping Station) in Koramangala to pump sewage. Prem, however, added that when there was no electricity, the sewage overflowed into the area and authorities refused to switch to diesel generator (DG).

Six months ago, the civic body did clean the blockage but residents claim it lasted for a month. “The drainage is above the road and there are shops that dump their waste in it. So, the water gets stagnated and the mosquitoes growing there might cause health issues,” said resident Satish Kumar. 

BWSSB assistant executive engineer Nagaraj said the pump house is a temporary solution. “When there is no electricity, we do not switch to DG since it takes half an hour, whereas electricity usually comes back within 10 minutes. This sewage problem will go on for at least a year until the ISPS (NGV) is completed. It is a `115 crore project that started six months ago.

This is a permanent solution,” he said. BWSSB chief engineer (STP) Nithyanand Kumar said, “The ISPS project is a comprehensive proposal to pump complete sewage waste in Koramangala. For Ashwini Layout, we need to check what the issue is. Our engineers will look into it immediately.”