Pushpa Harish has been hospitalised twice in four months for suspected chikungunya and swine flu. She is not the only one in the locality, who has had to make frequent visits to the hospital.
Waterlogging, leaks in sewers and contamination of drinking water has made the lives of Shantinagar residents unbearable. “Each time it rains, I’m worried the mix of rainwater and sewage will seep into our houses,” says Devika Ratnam, a homemaker from Church Road. The issue has persisted for long, and even a 1,000-person protest in January did not provoke the civic authorities to take action.
“Shantinagar residents are some of the highest taxpayers in the city. Yet, we have seen no consequence so far,” says Prasad, president of Shantinagar Residents’ Welfare Association.
Rahul Priyadarshi, Assistant Executive Engineer at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, blames the old pipeline network in Shantinagar for the problems. “We are replacing 30-year-old pipelines in the area. Only 200-m of 12.5-km of the network has been replaced. Though the work has been delayed, mostly due to rain, I am confident that the project will be completed within three weeks,” he said.
