Floods, filth: Bumpy road to business in the pete

Centrally located and thickly populated, Chickpet is one of the oldest areas of Bengaluru dating back to the 16th century and for as long as anyone can remember, has been a business hub, selling everything from jewellery to textiles, besides being home to movie theatres and educational institutions.

Nearly 15,000 traders carry out their wholesale and retail business in this bustling locality, helping it contribute huge revenue to the state’s exchequer. But sadly, it has very little to show for it as it reeks of  neglect with leaking sewage pipes, pothole-ridden roads,  garbage piles and men standing in queues to relieve themselves in the open.  One of its worst sections is the crowded SP Road where vehicles are parked haphazardly and potholes are big enough to make the lives of commuters extremely miserable.

"A part of old Bengaluru, Chickpet is badlly neglected and lacks all  civic amenities. The drainage system here has collapsed," rues trade activist, Sajjan Raj Mehta, pointing out that the entire locality gets waterlogged in rain. “Also, there are no proper public toilets in the area for either the traders and visitors," he  laments

Disgustingly, in the absence of toilets there is open defecation  in parts of Siddapura and Sudhamanagar,  represented by corporator R.V. Yuvaraj, son of sitting Chickpet MLA, R V Devaraj of the Congress. The area is also plagued by burning of garbage and burning of waste wires for extraction of copper.

Complains Mr Mohammad Imran Pasha, a resident of Susheela Road, "The land around the transformer here has become a mini dumping yard. Garbage  from the nearby shops, meat stalls and garages ends up here and is set on fire. The smoke has blackened a portion of the multi-level car parking facility nearby and is a serious  health hazard. But our repeated complaints have fallen on deaf ears.”

To add to the locality’s problems, stretches of Siddapura, Hombegowdanagar and Wilson Garden often get waterlogged in rain. Mr Mehta believes Chickpet is neglected because it is almost a no man’s land,   covered by  two assembly constituencies. While a portion of it is covered by the Chickpet constituency itself, another section  is now covered by the Gandhinagar constituency (following the delimitation exercise of 2008), making it easy for the MLAs concerned to pass the buck for its upkeep.  While Mr Devaraj  represents Chickpet,  Mr Dinesh Gundu Rao, also of the Congress, represents nearby Gandhinagar.

The Congress may be in charge now, but Chickpet was for long  a stronghold of the BJP until the former party ousted it in more recent polls.

The fed up traders,many of whom are migrants to the city,   have set up their own South Indian Migrants Association and resolved to vote only for the candidate who is prepared to  address their many problems. They don’t seem very concerned about the impact of GST and demonetisation, seeing the measures as good for the nation and the hardships created as temporary.

Mr Devaraj is this time up against Mr  Hemachandra Sagar of the JD(S) and Mr Uday Garudachar of the BJP. But whether he will fight incumbency and win the seat for the Congress once again remains to be seen.