Bengaluru: Located to the north of Hebbal and west of Malleswaram, Yeshwanthpur is best known for the biggest wholesale market of agriculture produce in the city, the APMC yard, which it has been home to for years. But of late the constituency has seen a few garbage processing units come up in its midst, much to the dismay of the people, who are complaining about the stench they give out, making their lives miserable. In fact a lot of people here believe Yeshwanthpur is the most neglected part of the city as it is grappling with irregular water supply, a poor drainage system, and illegal dumping of garbage among many other civic problems.
Says Mr Salman Ahmed, a resident of Doddabidarakallu and an automobile engineer in a reputed company, "Initially we moved to the area assuming it was quiet and calm. But now it has become a mess and life has become difficult due to the garbage processing units here. Hundreds of lorries arrive to dump the waste from the rest of the city at these units, creating an unhealthy environment. We are afraid to let our children play in the open owing to fear of diseases spreading. Although we have complained several times, no one seems to be listening." In his view the government should move the garbage processing unit out of the city to a remote location where there are no people. "It is unfair on the local residents to set up waste processing units in their midst," he protests, adding water supply is a huge problem as well. "We have to depend on private water tankers or borewells in the absence of regular water supply, but even this quality of water is poor and we need to boil it before consuming it," he says.
Mr Sampath Somasundar, a resident of Hemmigepura and a sales manager in a private company, points out that around 50 per cent of the constituency is still not receiving Cauvery water and the areas that do, receive it twice or thrice a week. "The constituency is one of the most neglected in the city. We have seen people moving out just to avoid the garbage and water problem. The clogged drains are another headache, especially when it rains, as they overflow, flooding the streets. The roads are not asphalted either and there is no underground drainage system. In a nutshell, life is not easy here," he adds glumly.
Mr Gopal Krishna, a resident of Kengeri, believes the current MLA, S.T. Somashekar is trying his best to develop the area, but is not getting enough support from the government. "He has been fighting to remove the garbage processing units from Yeshwanthpur , but has not succeeded as the officials always seek time to find an alternative location for them. Recently, after most of the constituency was brought under city limits , Somashekar started to extend the Cauvery water supply to it and lay an UGD system. We are hoping things will improve even more after the assembly elections," he says.
As for the APMC yard, Mr Krishna believes it needs a facelift and a proper garbage disposal system. "Also, with a large number of trucks and lorries making their way to the APMC yard, there is constant traffic congestion and no police to regulate it," he complains, suggesting that the yard should be shifted to the outskirts as Yeshwanthpur is now home to several residential localities which deserve some peace and quiet.
While Somashekar of the Congress is hoping to win his third term from the constituency, he does have tough opponents in well known actor Jaggesh, who has been fielded by the BJP and Mr Javarai Gowda of the JD (S). In fact Mr Somashekar won by only a narrow margin against Mr Gowda in the 2013 assembly polls, which could make the current contest a close one as well.
