The Observer An IIJNM publication
Stench due to liquid waste makes KR Market’s parking lot a hellhole | P 2
Vol 17, Issue 6
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Sreejani Bhattacharyya sreejani.b@iijnm.org
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Buses take up to 45 minutes to get out of the Majestic bus stand because of water logging after rain | Credit:Sreejani Bhattacharyya the water logging issue, Gouse Peer, a KSRTC traffic controller who has worked at the station for 35 years said: “The bus station faces a huge drainage problem. It’s on a lower ground compared to other areas. The water logging problem is so acute it takes a lot of time for the rain water to flow
out. This leads to massive traffic snarls. It takes hours to return to normalcy.” The station, opened in the 1960s, is located on the bed of the dried-up Dharmambudhi lake. One side of the bus station is used by BMTC buses, and the southern side by long-distance
services of the KSRTC and other bus operators. One rainy day, The Observer saw passengers who had completed their journeys at Majestic stuck for almost half an hour. There was complete chaos, with none of the vehicles following any rule. People had to walk through ankle-deep water after the rain stopped. Anusha Rane, who frequently boards buses from the station, said: ”Whenever I catch a bus on a rainy day, it takes much time for the bus to get out from the station. I reach my destination much later than I should have.” Rekha Kambi, who works as a conductor in BMTC, concurred with Peer. “Owing to water logging, there is a massive traffic jam here. It becomes impossible for drivers to get their buses out. Once we had to wait 45 minutes to just get out of the station. The station is packed with commuters, autos and buses trying to move through the station.”
Bengalureans welcome Maa Durga Saket Tiwari saket.t@iijnm.org
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engaluru’s Bengali community is celebrating Durga Puja with gusto. “Utsav”, organized by Bengalis living in JP Nagar, has come up with a unique theme: Showcasing different cultures. President of the event Kinshuk Roy, informed The Observer: “I have been president of the event since 2015. I am based in Bangalore for the past nine years for my job. I travel to places like Jamshedpur, Nagpur. Everywhere I have been associated actively with Durga Puja and all Bengali socio-cultural events. I enjoy it so I am here, with a small but strongly committed and enthusiastic group of friends. For
the past six years Utsavdurga Puja is one of the most talked about events.” A regular visitor to the event, Barnali Sarkar, said: “This is our sixth year here. Though we are a small group of people here in Utsavdurga Puja, I think our popularity has been on the rise ever since we started it. People love it because of the warmth they get here, and this is what we want to maintain.” Trideb Sen, general secretary of the organizing committee said: “This Puja is very popular in South Benguluru. The Puja has a 'ghorer pujo' (homely puja) kind of feel. On Shashti we will have the 'boron' (welcoming) of Maa Durga. We have programs scheduled for all the five days. Flee markets, food stalls have also been put up.”
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Bringing the people of Bengaluru closer, one book at a time | P 2
Every time it pours, Majestic’s bus station comes to standstill he Kempegowda Bus Station becomes slushy and comes to a standstill every time there is heavy rain. About 1988 BMTC buses travel to and fro from the stop everyday with 20928 trips daily , taking passengers to destinations within and outside Karnataka. Jagdish, an autorickshaw driver who ferries people to and from the bus station, informed The Observer: “When it rains, it becomes really difficult to run autos in between buses due to heavy water logging. It takes a long time for the buses to move out; only then do the autos get to move. A lot of time is wasted due to this.” Buses of the BMTC, KSRTC and transport corporations of other states operate from the station, popularly known as Majestic, located in Gandhinagar, central Bengaluru. Talking to The Observer about
The Observer
The organizers of the JP Nagar Durga Puja say that the celebration attracts a lot of Bengalureans every year | Credit: Saket Tiwari
Neeladri Nagar roads become prone to accidents during monsoon Pracheta Panja pracheta.p@iijnm.org
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eople commuting through Niladri Nagar, Electronics City, have faced difficulties for a long time due to the poor condition of roads. The roads are muddy and accident-prone. There is no solution in sight as the Doddathoguru
A muddy road at Neeladri Nagar| Credit: Pracheta Panja Gram Panchayat and the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) have both disowned responsibility for maintaining the roads. In 2012 and 2016, the BBMP tried to bring Electronics City under its jurisdiction, but the association opposed the move. The road in front of the industrial area is well maintained, but the condition of roads in residential areas is entirely different. Residents complain it is difficult to walk on the roads, dusty in summer, become slushy during monsoon. Jyoti Sharma, a mother of a four-year-old, informed The Observer: “It is very difficult to cross the road with my son. The traffic situation remains the same all day. There are no traffic police to regulate the flow of vehicles.” A retired banker, Sham Kumar, said: “Almost a year ago, people protested about the hazards they have to face every moment, but there has been no improvement.” Siddhartha Dutta, an engineer who works in an MNC, said: “When it rains, the road becomes slippery and muddy. There are potholes everywhere. I have lived here for the past eight months and not seen any progress. Rather it is worsening by the day.” Doddathoguru Gram Panchayat president Anilkumar BK did not answer calls from The Observer.
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The Observer Wednesday,September 27, 2017
Bringing people of Bengaluru closer, one book at a time Manikankana Sengupta manikankana.s@iijnm.org
Shiny Kirupa. R shiny.k@iijnm.org
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angalore Book Hunt, an initiative started by Jershua Issac and Neil Kurein of St Joseph’s college of Art and Science aims to bring closer the people of Bengaluru through literature. The Book Hunt has three steps: Jershua and Neil hide a book in the Cubbon Park Metro Station for commuters to find; the person who finds the book is supposed to read it in two weeks or less; he/she puts it back or hides it somewhere else in the station. Participants in the project must post about it on social media. The Book Hunt has been executed in collaboration with Art in Transit, a project of the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology which aims to “create meaningful artistic interventions and discourse in places of transience”, says the Srishti website. Natasha Sharma, one of the artists and art curators for the art installations at the Cubbon Park Metro Station informed The Observer: “We work with a variety of artists and art curators who have put up their work at this Metro
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he bus stop at the exit of the Mysuru Road station of Namma Metro does not have a shelter or seats, inconveniencing hundreds of commuters. The stop is used by people waiting to board buses to distant places like Kengeri, Bidadi and Kumbalgodu.
Two of the installations at the Cubbon Park Metro Station that are part of the Art in Transit project | Credit: Manikankana Sengupta station.Cubbon Park has emerged as a hub, and that is why we moved our project here from the Peenya Metro station. The response has been good so far, and we hope to engage daily commuters even more through art and words”. About the issues they faced while taking the initiative for-
ward, Yash Bhandari, another artist closely involved with the project explained: “There is a sense of responsibility because the BMRCL had allowed us to work on this project with some expectations. So we have to keep in mind what they want and what the artists create.” Prathyoosha K, a first-year stu-
dent at Jain College and a frequent Metro commuter, likes the initiative, but said: “Not all commuters here are students; there are all kinds of people. So if they can keep other books as well, books that different generations read, there would be more options for them and would improve the initiative even further.”
With a dripping roof and underutilized infrastructure, KR Market is a hellhole Freezer not used; liquid waste in the parking lot; stench all over Manashaa Ganesan manashaa.g@iijnm.org
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large quantity of fruit goes waste at KR Market because the freezer meant to store the produce is not being used. Vendors say they suffer huge losses because of this, particularly during monsoon. Many shopkeepers at the market, one of Bengaluru’s oldest markets and a well-known landmark, informed The Observer that many of them are not even aware of the fact that there is an air-conditioned facility to store produce. There is another problem: The market does not have proper roofing. Water drips through the roof during monsoon, causing vegetables, fruits and flowers to decay. Tonnes of garbage and biodegradable waste is dumped into the underground parking facility. There is liquid waste too caused by decaying waste. The place bears a strong stench. A pump has been installed to send the liquid waste for disposal. But there is so much of it that sanitary workers have to clear it
No shelter or seats at Mysuru Road Metro station
Liquid and solid waste is dumped into the parking lot of KR Market, making it a stinking place |Credit: Manashaa Ganesan with brooms. Once the waste is collected, it is transported to the Madivala area. “Sometimes the liquid waste
does not flow to the motor. It remains stagnant for days together, leaving the entire parking lot with an unpleasant odor. Owing
to this, people suffer from respiratory diseases. We eat lunch in the parking lot which is even worse. It gets very difficult for us to breathe,” said Kanchanama, a sanitary helper at the market. Sometimes the liquid waste spreads over the entire parking lot, making manual cleaning difficult. “To know more about waste, and why the lot is left unclean sometimes, contact the BBMP ARO,” said Kanchanama. “We haven’t yet received our salaries for four months,” said a sanitary worker who refused to give her name. There are very few male workers in the place, well known as City Market. One of the shopkeepers said: “Once a new mayor is appointed, the tender to clean up the market goes changes hands. This has been happening for a while now. Hence, officials do not do much work.” The biomethanation plant in the market – a facility to convert bio-degradable waste into energy – is not put to proper use. It can each day turn five tonnes of waste into electricity that can light up 100 bulbs in the market. It would require 5,000 litres of water daily. “I am not authorized to provide any details regarding the biomethanation plant or any waste," said GK Suresh, health officer of the KR Market ward.
Commuters await buses at the Mysuru Road Metro station |Credit : Shiny Kirupa R Because there is no shelter, the passengers, including the elderly, have to endure heat and rain. An octogenarian said it is difficult to stand for a long time. Passengers hesitate to sit on dirty sidewalks, but eventually do that because they cannot stand for long. Palani, a passenger waiting to catch a bus to Kengeri, informed The Observer: “Bus number 226 has poor frequency. I cannot stand for more than half an hour, so I sit on pavements, no matter how unclean they are.” Lohit, the ticket operating machine executive of the Mysuru Road Metro station, said nearly 4,000 people use Exit C Outer Ring Road every day. Most people don’t use the autorickshaws waiting at Exit C because they are expensive. “I cannot spend Rs 200 on an autorickshaw ride to Kumbalgodu when the bus fare is just Rs 20, said Divakar, who frequents his relative’s house near Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Hospital.
The Team Editor: Pracheta Panja News and Photo Editor: Manashaa Ganesan Copy Editors: Sreejani Bhattacharyya, Shiny Kirupa and Manikankana Sengupta Page Layout: Rayan Mitra, Saket Tiwari