The rains have brought in loads of misery for not only residents but also those who pass through Castle Street. For, ever since the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) started work on laying 220 KV underground cables in the area, it has become an obstacle course for those who use the muddy, dug up road.
Located in the heart of the city and connecting the arterial areas such as Brigade Road, Richmond Road and Victoria Layout, Castle Street, once a pleasant thoroughfare, is now characterised by traffic jams. This has been the situation for the past one month with the KPTCL work even damaging water and sanitary lines.
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Residents have had to put up with no water supply for three days at a stretch. Even getting out of their houses has now become an expedition for them what with the traffic gone haywire.
As a result, the very young and the very old are forced to stay indoors. The permanent slush outside doesn't help either.
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“The problems are here due to the commercialisation of the area. The old sanitation pipes cannot take the pressure of newly constructed three- and four-storey buildings, and this leads to sanitation blockage every month.
This problem can be solved only when separate ducts are created for every road,” said Gregory De Nazareth who lives here.
Another resident said: “We cannot take out the car. The situation was worse a couple of days ago. My son slipped and fell twice because of slush. And when it rains, it is chaos.”
Explaining the situation, KPTCL Chief Engineer Mahadev said: “We've been digging the road to lay the 220 KV cable and are taking care of the problems residents have been facing.
The work will be completed in 10 to 12 days.” The 220 KV cables are low-cost, environment-friendly and have low transmission losses.