Civic apathy has rendered Whitefield a ‘posh slum’, rue residents

Umar Sharieef | NT

Bengaluru:

Overflowing sewage, dugup roads, lack of street lights and illegal constructions are some of the civic issues that come to mind when one thinks about Whitefield on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Muck and sewage greet you when you enter ECC Road in the upmarket suburb of the IT city. While this may be happening over the last three to four days, apartments letting sewage water into the storm-water drainage is not new. Residents say this occurrence in most of Whitefield is the order of the day.

Posh slum - Sandeep, a local and civic activist told News Trail that overflowing sewage has become a perennial problem in the area, which is already bogged down by the apathy of civic agencies for almost five years. The stench due to the overflowing sewage has forced people to choose alternate ways to commute and left the locals a worried lot.

“It happens every day on the ECC Road, what with apartments letting out sewage water for two to three hours every day. The roads are filled with dirty water and people are unable to use them. It has also become a health hazard because there are houses without UGD connections,” he said. He just can’t come to terms with what the BBMP officials are doing about this.

“We have alerted the BBMP officials to look into the issue and they are digging up the UGD manholes to examine the problem, which is the opposite of the complaint. Shockingly, these officials are unaware of what they are doing,” he added. Residents of Whitefield say the situation is brought about by the “complete mismanagement of the BBMP officials”. They have made “umpteen complaints about the violations of law in the area, but to no avail”.

Lack of water supply, illegal constructions and drilling of bore wells in empty sites, are the other problems that worry these residents, which is how it has been for “nearly five years”. The name of the area has become infamous for the lack of water supply as well. These residents get water once a week during summer, forcing them to mostly depend on water tankers.

They also accuse PWD department officials of not providing them with the reason and for not being transparent to the residents about their day-to-day issues. Noise pollution while digging a bore well is not supposed to exceed 80 decibels, but the residents of Whitefield claim the din goes beyond 100 decibels, “disturbing us not end”. While BBMP officials are unavailable for comment, residents of Whitefield rue that the area has become a “posh slum”.