New pipes to fix the overflowing issue

BANGALORE: After weeks of denial from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) that the overflowing drain was not their accountability, new underground pipes are being laid near General Post Office (GPO) on Raj Bhavan Road in order to replace the old pipes and stop the overflow.The commuters were put through severe distress having to bear the stench as reported by City Express on June 16.Crossing through the chaos, further worsened by the considerable amount of traffic the road faces, was a difficult task.The employees of Vishweraya Kendra, Vidhana Soudha and nearby offices on Queen’s Road and Dr Ambedkar Road heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed the decision to repair the drain. They remarked that the authorities seem to have finally realised the hassles faced by the public due to the drain and have woken up to actually acting upon the problem.An employee of an office on Dr Ambedkar Road, Ramesh, said, “It is good to finally see some action from the authorities on the issue.We hope that they work on our problems with the same dedication from now on.” Another employee was not so hopeful. On the condition of anonymity, he said, that despite the location being central, the situation was left as it is for a long time.“The overflow began before the visit of Slovenian Prime Minister, Borut Pahor . If located elsewhere, it wouldn’t have received the same reaction for a longer period.” When the BWSSB executive engineer was first questioned about the reason for the overflow, he had said that the area came under the jurisdiction of the BBMP as the sewage pipe did not go any further from that point.He had also mentioned that the reason for the damage caused to the underground drain was due to all the Metro construction work that is in progress in the vicinity.When contacted about the revamp works, Venkataraju, the engineer-in-chief of BWSSB, was clueless about the work being undertaken despite holding such a high office. It was a replay scenario as the BWSSB, just a month ago, had asserted that the overflowing drain had nothing to do with them.Upon enlightening him of the issue, he said, “We are laying new underground pipes not only to solve the problems of an overflowing drain but also to facilitate the easy functioning of Bangalore Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) telephones in the area. The reason we were unaware earlier is due to the fact that Metro work is a common sight in and around the area. Several pipes have been damaged by them previously.”