Hampi Nagar: Bus depot in bad shape

Rachana Ramesh | NT

Bengaluru:

Classified as Hampi Nagar, the Ward 133 houses many public spaces that are not commonly seen in other localities. The ward is home to a bus depot, a public toilet and a public library among other things. Apart from these the area is mostly residential and has public parks scattered all over.

The public toilet in the locality is accessed by many and is also kept in a relatively clean state. The management has even gone out of the way to place plant pots within the premises and has also hung various plants over the barricades.

Surrounded by retail shops of textile and other materials, the customers who would once choose to attend nature’s call somewhere in public now opt to come to the toilet due to its cleanliness. The public library, almost a ten-minute walk away from the public toilet, is also in a good condition and receives good footfall. The bus depot, on the other hand, is in a relatively bad state.

Regular commuters complain that there are not enough bus shelters made within the depot where one can wait for buses. “I take the Route number 176 bus to my college located in Rajajinagar from this depot, which is the starting point.

The depot is open and does not have a shelter covering. When it rains, all the commuters along with pedestrians passing by tend to accumulate in the single bus stand within the depot that has shelter,” said a student from KLE College. She added that adding more stands within the depot will allow those in need such as elderly citizens, the disabled and pregnant women to wait for their buses without having to stand for long. The residents in the vicinity do not have many complaints of civic issues.

They claim that the garbage collection takes place regularly and they do not have any water issues. However, they are worried about their localities being dimly lit leading to miscreants roaming around in the night. “Since the centre of this ward is mostly residential, it is quiet after dusk and the street lights are dim.

Since there are many parks around too, people from other neighbourhoods come around for a smoke or so,” said a resident who wished not to be named. She added that this is only within the centre of the ward as the fringes have many retail shops with bright lights and bustling crowds.

While walking on these roads make the residents feel safer, they say the pedestrian infrastructure is mostly encroached. “The main roads are narrow and so are the bylanes, so most of the customer’s vehicles are parked on or very close to the footpaths. You cannot take a stroll on this road, especially during the festive season.

Along with this, vegetable and fruit vendors blatantly put up their stalls on the pavements,” said Trayeesh, a recent engineering graduate, who lives in the vicinity. The area is also home to many schools such as the Holy Angle’s and Chitrakoota, leading to choking of the particular roads during the entry time in the mornings and exit in the evenings.