Old wine in old bottle?

The irresponsible BDA not facilitating utilities...
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Old wine in old bottle?

N R Madhusudhan

First Published : 06 Oct 2009 05:10:00 AM IST Last Updated : 06 Oct 2009 06:55:21 AM

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is yet to ensure that layouts established five years get basic amenities but it is nevertheless going ahead with what can only be called an ambitious plan under the circumstances and setting up five new layouts.

The five new layouts that are planned around the city will house more than 1.8 lakh sites. However, these areas lack amenities such as water supply, underground drains, asphalted roads, and stormwater drains, indicating that the BDA has failed to see the ground reality.

Take a look at the road that connects the Banashankari 6th Stage and everything that is wrong with BDA comes to the fore. Sample this: Most of the lids that cover the manholes of the underground drains are missing, some of the manholes are broken by some miscreants, some of the manholes are filled with stones and plants have grown in some of them. The storm water drains in the first block of the layout are not connected to a connecting line and consequently the water overflows onto the roads damaging the roads.

The street lights are not in a working condition and the electric cables on the poles and the cables that are connected to the transformers are stolen.

R Rangaswamy, a resident, said, “Though the authorities have constructed the underground drains they are not connected and we cannot use them. There is no water supply and we rely on bore water for all our needs.” BDA is yet to lay the sewage lines in some of the blocks of Anjanapura Layout and as a result the roads in these blocks are yet to be asphalted. It’s litany of complaints is almost similar to that of Banashankari 6th stage. What’s more, the residents have even dug up septic tanks on the roads.

Vanitamma, the owner of the house on Plot No 778 of the layout said: “The electric cables were not functioning properly and we had to take electric connection from some other block. It is fearful at the night as the street lights are not functioning and we dread going out after sunset.” BDA had to stop the construction of the main road (80 feet road) that connects Sir M Vishveshwaraiah Layout and Ullal and developing some parts of the layout due to court cases and, thus, their counterparts’ problems are to be seen here too.

When these problems were brought to the notice of the BDA officials concerned, they said that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has been entrusted the responsibility of giving water supply, laying water lines, digging underground drains and storm water drains. The officials also said that the provisions would be made to give electricity connections to the site owners as and when they construct the houses.

The BWSSB officials said that they cannot give water supply to these layouts till the completion of Cauvery 4th Phase, II Stage in 2012.

The tenders for the works that have to be taken up in these layouts have been called and these works will be completed as soon as possible.

For now, as soon as possible is going to be the operative phase.