Bengaluru: Civic neglect stalks Varthur, area still lacks basic amenities

Bengaluru: With summer vacations only a few weeks away, nine-year-old Ansh is unhappy. His wonders that without any playground in the locality, where will he play?

Ansh’s father Venkatesh said, “Every night Ansh has one question - what am I going to do for another two months? How am I going to spend my time in the day? Now, what can I tell him, since I too don’t know where to take him to play other than taking him to game zones in malls on weekends?”

In Green Garden Layout in Munnekolala, there are no parks and the land allocated to develop a park has become a garbage dumpyard, seriously lacking maintenance. As a result, rats, mosquitoes and stray dogs have increased in the locality, posing health hazards.

“Despite many efforts to curb garbage menace, some residents dump garbage illegally,” rues Rejesh, another resident.

“Along with the help of BBMP officials, we have initiated awareness drives and workshops to fully implement garbage segregation at source and curb illegal dumping in vacant plots. Although serious efforts are being put towards garbage management, the plot has become an easy access point for those illegally dumping garbage,” he added.

The residents rue that though Munnekolala is the only developed area in Varthur ward it still does not have any parks. Palani, another resident, said that connecting roads to Sai Baba Temple Road are almost non-existent and do not have proper streetlights.

“Some of the roads like Vibgyor High School Road are dangerous to travel in the night as there’s less visibility to commute on these roads. For many years these roads have had no asphalt. The bylanes need more attention,” he said.

The residents said that though BBMP officials have been co-operative to their requests, it would benefit all if basic amenities like parks were
developed.

Funds crunch a major issue: Pushpa Manjunath, Corporator, Varthur

There are no parks in Varthur ward though the area is rapidly developing. Why?

The ward has not been developed ever since it was added to the BBMP limits in 2007. If the previous corporator had shown even a little interest to take development works, the ward would have been in a lot better shape by now. Despite the lack of attention, Munnekolala is the only developed area in Varthur ward, that too, a result of the consistent efforts of the residents.

What is the biggest challenge to develop parks in your ward when there is allocated land?

I have been allotted only Rs 1.5 crore to develop the entire ward. Water crisis is severely affecting most of the residents and with summer fast approaching, we have no other option but to focus on addressing water crisis. Hence, all the funds have been diverted towards this.

Another Rs 1.5 crore has been set aside for maintenance works. I have absolutely no funds to develop parks or similar amenities. Also, some of the BBMP officials are highly unapproachable, making matters worse.

Have you considered adopting PPP model, since many MNCs are present in Varthur ward?

My dream is to fully develop Varthur and I will leave no stone unturned to achieve this. However, I am not completely aware how initiatives like PPP model function and I am learning from senior corporators. With time, I am confident of developing my ward.