Observer issue 5

The Observer

The Observer An IIJNM publication

Janaagraha officer Anil Nair says our urban plans are bad, not enough funds are allocated | P 2

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Vol 17, Issue 5 Thursday, September 21, 2017

Poor state of pipes leads to uneven supply and fights among dwellers of Srirampuram slum | P 2

Horamavu lake turns a dumping ground Stink pervades the area as BBMP dumps, then lifts garbage

VOICES OF ANGUISH People don’t stop to buy my coconuts.

Raveer, a street vendor

Barnana Hemoprava Sarkar barnana.h@iijnm.org

It’s like violating the movement of Swachh Bharat.

Dr T. Ramachandra, a lake expert

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esidents around the Horamavu Agara lake, in east Bengaluru, have complained for almost two years about continuous dumping of garbage from neighbouring areas on the bank of the lake.

Soumyaroop Mohanty, a resident of the area who works at Standard Chartered Bank, informed The Observer: “BBMP workers come to clean every weekend, but during the week they dump so much waste that there is no point cleaning anymore.”

Activists and residents have complained to the BBMP several times, but it has taken no action. “This place was supposed to be turned into a park for people to walk, but nothing has happened,” he added.

BBMP trucks carry garbage from all over Ward 25 and dump it all around the 50.34-acre lake. Water released into the lake contains waste material such

Garbage piled up at the Horamavu Agara lake bed I Credit: Barnana Hemoprava Sarkar as plastic, cement and bricks.

Raveer, a street vendor, said: “It smells bad, no one wants to work here.

People don’t stop to buy my coconuts.”

The bank of the water body is used as an area to segregate garbage.

Radhamma Venkatesh, the corporator of the area, said: “The trucks carry waste from nearby areas and segregate them near the lake. Once every three months, workers go to clean up the weed and grass which grow around

the area. Most garbage is dumped in Bellahalli.”

However, urban planner Anirban Chaudhury said: “Most of the bulk garbage in the layout is collected by the BBMP. Even when you segregate the garbage, it gets mixed up. The waste is supposed to be composted, but that does not happen. Large complexes are classified as bulk waste generators. In such cases, the contactors compost garbage for free. They make money

from the dry waste. In small layouts with small flats, there is no control over segregation. It gets mixed up at the transfer station.”

Though Bellahalli is the designated dumping area, BBMP workers continue to dump waste in Bengaluru’s lakes. Asked the reason for this, Chaudhury said: “The dumping sites are outside the city, so transporting garbage there consumes a lot of fuel.

Instead of dumping outside, they

Instead of dumping it outside, they dump it in the lakes.

Anirban Chaudhury, an urban expert dump it in the lakes.”

Nupur Jain, trustee of the Puttenahalli Neighborhood Lake Improvement Trust, said: “The situation is different in every lake. Garbage is dumped, and once in two or three days a truck comes and lifts it.”

But that does not help because the area continues to be infested with dogs and flies. Following heavy rain, the area becomes slushy, resulting in a stink around the place.

Evictees to shift to new homes Nobody cares about these pathetic roads

Anjana Basumatary anjana.b@iijnm.org

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ore than four and a half years after they were evicted from the EWS quarters at Ejipura, over 5,000 people will move into a new ninestoreyed building, the contractor says. Legal allottees who have ration, voter ID, Aadhaar and BBMP cards will shift to a 360sqft building at Sulekunte village, about 18 km from Ejipura.

2013 demolitions “The building is almost done; only electricity needs to be provided, and then the legal allottees will be able to shift to their new quarters,” said Maverick Holdings director Uday Garudachar.

Each quarter has a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a drawing room. On the ground floor is a hall for handicraft workers.

Living in roadside tin sheds since their eviction in January

The buildings at Sulekunte village for the evicted I Credit: Anjana B 2013, the evicted persons said they have inadequate access to food, sanitation and healthcare. Their children had to drop out of school and start earning to support their families. Many lost their jobs.

The dwellings of 1,512 families were razed to the ground in January 2013 to make space for a shopping complex and a residential complex for the poor.

Maverick Holdings, which was awarded the contract, had promised to build the building within one and a half years from the time of eviction.

Issac Arul Selva, a social worker, informed The Observer: “There are no human rights in India and no protection for dalits. Human rights are made only for politicians.” The allottees can shift to their new homes only after paying Rs 15,000, he said.

They have filed a petition in the high court against the contractor so that they are allowed to move in without paying.

Lakshmi, one of those evicted, said: “Living on a footpath is really hard during rain. Rainwater floods our tents.”

Stella Mary, another evicted person, said their life is hard not just in tents, but also at their workplaces. They are discriminated against and seen as thieves.

“In past two months, three people died of cold and rat bite. We are waiting to have our own homes so that we are considered human and we are no longer discriminated against in our workplaces.” said Shanti Kumar, who lived in the EWS quarters.

Rachel Dammala Priyanka dammalar@iijnm.org

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he condition of roads in Kumbalgodu Industrial area, lane number 8, has worsened following heavy rain, making it difficult for heavy vehicles to traverse the narrow way.

Workers of Vinpack India Private Ltd, informed The Observer the condition of the road has made it difficult for them to commute to their workplace.

According to their understanding, the roads have to be built by the gram panchayat, and not by them (the factory) as they are not authorized to do so.

Nazeer, a truck driver, and Imran, a welder, who work at the factory, said it isn’t a new problem.

Nobody responds if they complain.

A worker at a silicate factory said that they have learned to live with the bad roads.

The road in front of one of the industries I Credit: Rachel Sachin HS, field officer at Sree Factory said: “It’s not just these ditches, the road is always full of dust. When the factory next to ours washes their plant and tankers, it floods the area, making commutation a nightmare.”

Kumbalgodu gram panchayat secretary YV Balasubramaniam denied responsibility for the roads, saying, “The workers should approach the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board.”

CITY

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The Observer Thursday, September 21, 2017

Srirampura slum waits for Our cities have poor better water distribution plans, lack enough funds: Janaagraha

Poor state of pipes leads to uneven supply and fights among dwellers

Kritika Agrawal kritika.a@iijnm.org

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Arlene Mathew arlene.m@iijnm.org

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esidents of the Swathanthranagar slum in Srirampura hope for a permanent solution to water shortage in their area. The BBMP is re-laying underground water pipes, a task that residents say is delayed. The work includes digging roads to access the pipes, resulting in traffic congestion in the narrow lanes of the slum.

The BWSSB supplies water to some lanes in the morning, and to others in the afternoon.

T Manjula, a housewife, informed The Observer: “We receive the water in the morning. However, we do not get sufficient amount as most of it is consumed by people in the other lanes who receive water in the afternoon.”

She blamed poor networking of the underground pipes.

The slum in Ward 95, around a kilometer from the Srirampura Metro station, has numerous intersecting lanes. The alleged uneven distribution of water, and the schedules, lead to squabbles between the residents.

Work on the pipes began in the

Roads dug up for rerouting and restructuring of water pipes in Swathanthranagar, Srirampura | Credit: Arlene Mathew first week of August, eliciting mixed response from residents.

“It has been a month since the work on the water pipes began.

The BBMP has examined them, (but) I don’t understand why the road is still left so,” said Chandru, a shopkeeper in the area.

Many complained that the supply of water is inadequate for daily use, and uneven.

The dug-up road has been left in the same condition in some lanes, obstructing traffic. Children who play in these lanes risk falling into the trenches.

Eraiah C, a resident, seems to have some hope. “All this commotion is to be expected if we need a good change. The road being dug up is a temporary hurdle. I don’t think anyone should be complain-

ing about it,” he said.

The Junior Health Inspector of BBMP, ward 95, G. Srinivas Prasad, expressed his concern over the water shortage. “The density of people in the area is huge, and the quantity of water is inadequate,” he said. The houses receive water every alternate day, from 6 to 8am. “There is a problem of water leakage… we are still trying to patch up all water pipes in the area, hence the trenches,” he explained.

“Also, there are people who have attached motors to the existing connections illegally, affecting the supply of water to other residents of the area.” Work on the pipes will take a few more weeks to complete, and the roads will have to remain dug up till then.”

Badly maintained public loos anger Subhashnagar residents

Debanjali Kabiraj debanjali.k@iijnm.org

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oorly maintained public toilets and drains in Subhashnagar area of Srirampura have given rise to stench and disease, say residents. The three public toilets in the area, under the BBMP’s jurisdiction, are rarely cleaned. It’s so with the drains too.

One of the residents, Nitya T, informed The Observer that the residents clean the drains themselves because the BBMP doesn’t do its job. Though they had complained about it, BBMP officials just came but took no action.

The drains have stagnant water. Households in the area dump leftover food into the drains, giving rise to stench and making them a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

A. Manjula, a resident of Subhashnagar whose house is located near one of the public toilets, said that the toilet is not cleaned regularly.

“The stench is unbearable. On top of that, the toilet is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”

The residents said it is necessary to clean the toilets regularly because it is used by many people

The junior health inspector of the area says the toilets are used for illegal activities and deliberately kept dirty | Credit: Debanjali Kabiraj living in the area.

“There have been many cases of high fever ,” Manjula said.

Junior Health Inspector of the area, G. Srinivas Prasad said youngsters of the area indulge in illegal activities in the toilets, including drug consumption. They keep the toilets dirty, so that nobody comes there. The corporator had an interesting take on the public toilets: The area does not need them because each house

has its own toilet.

“Each house was provided Rs 15,000 to build a toilet,” he said.

“Not even 5 per cent of the residents use the public toilets.”

They were built to prevent defecation near the railway tracks.

“The residents do not complain about the youngsters who indulge in illegal activities because they think complaining against them will only spoil their future,” Prasad added.

he irony can’t be starker.

While governments make plans to make cities smart, catastrophic consequences of bad urban planning are seen.

Whether it is the Bellandur lake frothing, the ubiquitous potholes, the chopping of a large number of trees, or thoughtless construction during monsoon, all seem to belie plans announced by ministers.

Anil Nair, deputy head of advocacy and reforms at Janaagraha, a Bengaluru-based NGO, shares with The Observer his thoughts on the challenges Bengaluru faces due to bad urban planning. Excerpts from a telephone interview: Q: We find numerous trees have been chopped for a signal-free corridor on airport road without due permission.

Citizens and residents there have staged protests. Who is responsible?

A: There is a fault in planning projects; citizens should be a part of the planning process. When plans are chalked out, all stakeholders must be party to them.

One of the challenges that you find is that there is little scope for citizen participation. There is a need to have inputs from citizens to avoid confrontations like those which happened….

Q: During monsoon, various parts of Bengaluru become flooded. Storm water drains that were not constructed

Observer interview properly are not being maintained adequately. Due to this, rains are becoming a bane for the city. Your views on this?

A: Natural passage of water has been stopped by ill-managed constructions, illegal constructions and violations of land use. Storm water drains… are either non-existent or completely dysfunctional due to sewage and garbage being dumped (into them).

Q: Lakes in Bengaluru are highly polluted. Some are on the verge of extinction. Are people not voicing their concerns, or have authorities turned a deaf ear?

A: Citizens should not only engage in protests; they also need to ensure there are no violations of any kind. For example, dumping

of sewage in lakes. The Karnataka high court announced a couple of years ago that there must be a body to manage each lake. The BBMP is not the only agency responsible for this; there are seven other agencies which are responsible too. Why are apartments letting sewage into lakes? It’s because BWSSB has not provided sewage connections.

Q: Are enough time and resources being invested for sustainable development in Bengaluru?

A: Our assessment is that it is not adequate. Not only in Bengaluru, but in most of the cities. Our cities are unable to invest the amount of money required. One reason for this is that the cities are greatly dependent upon central and state grants. Forget sustainability, the cities are unable to even provide for a minimum quality of life. Secondly, the quality of roads, water and streetlights is far from adequate.

Anil Nair of Janaagraha Q. The recent Mumbai floods were said to be a result of sudden climate change and poor planning. Do you think Bengaluru is ready for a similar situation? Is there enough coordination between the BBMP, meteorological department and state disaster response force?

A: Not at all. There is no adequate coverage of storm water drains. This depends upon the quantum of rain. Because Bengaluru is at a height, Mumbailike flooding may not happen here. However, in exceptional cases of heavy rainfall, Bengaluru can sink.

Nothing gives us the confidence that the agencies are prepared for the kind of disaster that happened in Mumbai.

The Observer Team

Editor: Athul M News editor: Debanjali Kabiraj Copy editors: Kritika Agrawal, Rachel Dammala, Ayushi Singh Page layout editors: Anjana Basumatary, Barnana Hemoprava Sarkar Photo editor: Arlene Mathew