Shivajinagar: Heart of city in throes of transformation

Garbage black spots, water supply problems and the slow pace of ongoing roadworks were the most pressing issues raised by the residents of the Shivajinagar assembly constituency on Saturday.

At Janaspandana-Citizens For Change, a civic grievance redress event organised by DH and Prajavani, dozens of residents poured their hearts out as MLA Rizwan Arshad and officials from various government agencies listened.

Being in the heart of the city, Shivajinagar is among the most crowded assembly constituencies in Bengaluru. But it's a picture of contrasts.

It's not only home to most government offices but also some of the most prominent areas such as Queen's Road, Cunningham Road, Millers Road, Nandidurga Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Vasanthnagar, Jayamahal and Kumara Park, where the who's who of Bengaluru live.

Yet, many parts of Shivajinagar are littered with garbage, bad roads, dysfunctional streetlights and broken footpaths.

Before the latest delimitation, Shivajinagar had seven wards with nearly two lakh voters: Halasuru, Vasanthnagar, Sampangiram Nagar, Shivajinagar, Bharathinagar, Jayamahal and Ramaswamy Palya. It now has only six wards. Shivajinagar is no longer a ward.

At Janaspandana, residents from all these wards raised the issues that are bogging them down.

Garbage black spots seemed to be a common problem. While Vinod, from Chinnappa Garden, wanted the BBMP to clear garbage from vacant lands, Varadaraju, of SR Nagar, complained about the irregular collection of municipal waste from households.

In response, Arshad asked the BBMP to clean vacant lands and penalise their owners in accordance with an existing rule. He also spoke about a plan to distribute garbage bins to households in SR Nagar, Vasanthnagar and other parts of the constituency.

Irregular and substandard supply of water is another major problem for the residents. Raveendra, from Krishnamma Garden, said the stormwater drain passing through the area was so dirty with the garbage that they were getting drinking water mixed with sewage. Some residents, like Girish from SR Nagar, complained about inflated water bills.

The MLA agreed, saying high water bills are a big problem. When a BWSSB official said the high bills could be because of arrears, Arshad suggested that the government waive them so as to provide relief to citizens.

When Venkatachala, from Krishnamma Garden, stated their area wasn't getting water supply, a BWSSB official promised to attend to the problem right away.

The slow pace of roadworks in and around Shivajinagar and Bharathinagar was another grievance. Maria, from Bharathinagar, said Narayan Pillai Street was only half-tarred and wondered why government departments can't coordinate before undertaking such works.

A resident of Edward Road, off Queen's Road, asked why the Smart City authorities had left gaps on the road. A resident of Thimmaiah Road pointed out the many potholes dotting the street. Rajkumar Dugar, from Vasanthnagar, said a 600-metre stretch of Millers Road had at least six problems even after being redone under the Smart City project.

In response, the MLA said that most roadworks had been completed in the constituency and promised to finish the rest soon. As for the Smart City works, he promised to inspect the streets and fix the problems.

Footpath encroachments, shops in residential areas, haphazard parking, dysfunctional streetlights, water stagnating on roads, open drains and chain snatchings were among other problems raised by the residents.