Residents rail against shoddy civic facilities in Belathur area

BENGALURU: Belathur Rising, a group of Resident Welfare Associations in the area, recently submitted a petition letter to Hoodi ward corporator Hariprasad A, requesting him to take immediate action on the pressing infrastructure issues. The letter lists out nine grievances and demands, including regular garbage pick-up services and patchwork of roads dug up by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM).

Belathur, which is located close to Whitefield, has been struggling to cope with scraggy roads, traffic jams and garbage piles for a long time, and the recent episodes of rainfall have made things worse. “The entire area is dotted with roads that have been ravaged by BWSSB and BESCOM,” Abhilash M, a member of the organisation, said. “For two years, BWSSB’s Kaveri Underground Drainage (UGD) project has been causing long traffic jams, minor accidents and now, water logging. They first delayed the work, and now, are not undertaking patch-up work,” he added.

Residents say they have tried multiple times to reach out to local authorities. “Some relief methods have been executed, but nothing has been enough to resolve it permanently. The officials cite lack of funds to justify the situation. While the government has enough money for white-topping and elevated corridors, people here continue to suffer without proper basic infrastructure,” Abhilash said.

BBMP is aware of the issues, Sarfaraz Khan, joint commissioner, SWM, BBMP, told CE. “We are going to appoint regular marshals in the area and try to permanently solve the problem. We have instructed the Mahadevapura assistant executive engineer of SWM to conduct surprise visits in the area. I am also going to visit it. Regarding the daily garbage pick-up services, the tender has already been placed. Though a delay was caused by contract management issues, we will ensure that the process is completed in 10-15 days.”

During their meeting with corporator Hariprasad, Belathur residents were promised immediate action. If their problems are not resolved even after this, the forum has decided to seek help of Bangalore Apartments Federation. “We have also decided to put pressure on the local authorities in ward committee meetings,” Anand Shankaranarayan, another member of Belathur Rising, said.