Overflowing manhole ruins Church Street’s aesthetics

People waded through dirty water on Church Street as sewage water overflowed from a manhole on Saturday. Passersby said the stench was unbearable. DH PHOTO/S K Dinesh

An overflowing manhole near the Museum Road intersection turned Church Street into a rivulet on Saturday.

Besides blotting its aesthetic beauty, the pungent odour hanging in the air drove away the usual weekend crowd gathering at its shops and restaurants. Shoppers waded through dirty water due to the intermittent drizzle, which made the experience even worse.

Owners of shops close to the intersection told DH that the sewage overflow has happened before.

“I have seen the manhole overflow at least twice in the last three months. The intersection is surrounded by eateries and open-air restaurants. The BBMP and BWSSB authorities should find a permanent solution to this problem,” said Sandeep M, a regular visitor to Church Street Social, a cafe located at the intersection.

Shoppers felt walking along the road has become difficult though the street is meant for pedestrians.

“This spoils the street’s charm and dents its reputation. The street gets heavy footfall over the weekends. How can you expect people to wade through the puddles?” asked a visitor to a nearby hotel.

No complaint received: BWSSB engineer

DH reached out to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) engineer in charge of the area to understand what went wrong with the pipeline laid afresh just a few months ago. The engineer said he did not receive any complaint over the issue.

“The road has been newly laid and inaugurated recently. The connections have been checked thoroughly. Such problems should not arise frequently. We will check and ensure the issue doesn’t recur,” the BWSSB official said