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Malleswaram residents rue vanishing footpaths, stray dogs

Last Updated 17 March 2018, 19:41 IST

A resident of Malleswaram constituency, Kalasegowda, finds a leisurely evening stroll along the streets is as tricky as circling around booby-traps.

Disheartened by the footpaths teamed with street vendors, Kalasegowda, in his late 60s, discontinued his strolls nearly two years ago.

"Street vendors occupy the footpath from Vinayaka Circle to Rajesh Hotel. So, senior citizens have to give up their evening walks," he told the 'Janaspandana-Citizens for Change' programme organised by Deccan Herald and Prajavani at Krishnadevaraya Kalamandira in Malleswaram on Saturday.

Indeed, many senior citizens residing in the neighbourhood spoke about vanishing walking space. A resident of East Park Road, B Ravi said high traffic density makes it impossible for walkers to use the edge of the road.

Malleswaram may have finished with its street vendor survey, but it is still to find a 'street vendor's zone' - a common selling area - to put up their shops.

"This is a very tricky issue, especially since it involves the livelihood of street vendors," J Narayan, executive engineer, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, said. "The street vendors have one of the biggest associations, but we need to be fair to them, too."

Narayan also said the Palike has been holding footpath clearance drives each month.

No streetlights  

Prof N Ramachandra Swamy, another resident of the area, pointed to the lack of streetlights at the  8th main road. "Women and senior citizens find it harder to walk in this stretch," he said.

Malleswaram area corporator N Jayapala responded to the concern, saying the civic body would soon fix LED lights along the stretch.

The proof of rampant commercialisation is the way pubs and bars encroach the predominantly residential neighbourhood and shatter the peace and quiet.

Deafening music  

Citizens complained about the deafening music emanating from these pubs and how they continue late into the night. "There's this particular bar in a street that has a DJ show pumping out earsplitting noise. Children can't study. It's so bad that the glass showcase panel in my neighbour's house literally hums with the loud music," said Giri, a resident of Subramanya Nagar.

Area corporator H Manjunath responded by saying health officers who issue licences for the pubs and bars are conducting inspections and shutting them down. "The issue of commercialisation in residential areas has become rampant in the city," he agreed.

Another resident P G Ramachandran pointed out that the Palike is issuing trade licences to small industries like the printing press. "This turns out to be a big nuisance for nearby houses," he said.

Monkey menace

The area is also grappling with the growing stray menace. "A lot of monkeys enter our school premises," said Chithra V Rao, managing director of Hymamshu Jyothi Kala Peetha School in Malleswaram West.

"We have 2,000 children studying in the school. The monkeys attack the children and snatch away their lunch boxes. We've made several complaints to the BBMP, but our children live in fear. How can I protect them?" she asked.

BBMP veterinary officer Suresh said the civic body is helpless about the monkey menace since it concerns wild animals. "Only the forest department officials can address this issue," he said. Some residents also described their ordeals with the street dogs.

Garbage, bad roads  

Many citizens were dismayed about garbage dumping and failure of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to re-lay the road after the Unaccounted For Water (UFW) project.

"A foot overbridge near MES Kishore Kendra is in a pathetic condition and it is difficult to pass through," said Sridhar, a resident of ward number 66.

Malleswaram MLA C N Ashwath said UFW is an important project to make all the unaccounted water supply accountable. "However, the roads will be restored soon," he assured.

L S Prasad, a resident, revealed his distress over the malfunctioning BBMP grievance redressal app. "I've given several complaints with pictures, but the issues (with the app) haven't been resolved," he said.

A few citizens left the programme disappointed as they did not get a chance to air their views after the MLA spoke.

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(Published 17 March 2018, 19:18 IST)

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