BANGALORE: The Chokkasandra Ward is a hub for many industries with over 20,000 residents. Despite being a highly develop industrialised area the residents in the ward face various issues and shortage of water tops the list of their never ending civic woes. Acute shortage of water was felt when the local lake dried up many years ago, and left nothing but the sand.“We are constantly suffering from lack of drinking water. We do not have Cauvery water in this area, and CMC pipes also failed to serve their purpose. Despite, bringing it to the notice of the ward no actions has been taken yet. Every alternative day, we buy a water tanker which is shared among the residents including the price.” said, Hanumanthya a residents.To add to the list of issues, many drains are left open and have not been cleared for a long time. Since the area is surrounded by industries the waste from the industries are not directed properly and have accumulated in the drains of Chokkasandra.“The toxic smell from the open drains has made it hard for residents. Moreover, this has also attracted a lot of dogs and mosquitoes. To add to the miseries there is no one to collect the garbage as well. Most of the house waste have blocked up the drains allowing no room for the water to flow. The water over flows from the drains and makes its way to the roads or houses,” said Lalitha, a resident. The area also lacks proper road facilities and no sign of greenery either. The narrow roads obstructs the flow of vehicles smoothly and only one vehicle can pass at a time. Although there are movement of few BMTC buses, residents say, it is very rare to find public transport in the heart of the area. On a positive note, the place is free from human threats such as theft and criminal activities. As far as ecology is concerned, there are no parks or playground. “We want a playground in this area. There is no place where we can play cricket or any other sports properly. There are so many students in this area, and after school hours we all play at a school ground located in the ward. The ground is small and the only ground for the entire locality. At times, the ground will be completely filled with students and no one can play properly. Even, there are no parks in this area,” said Rakshit.The BBMP has been working on the dried lake and will be laying underground pipes to divert the drainage water away from the locality. Plans have been sanctioned to construct a public park, which is presently covered with slums.The Corporator of the Ward, M Muniswamy, said, “We are working on the dried lake. This is a new project, hence will take time to develop. And as far as water facilities are concerned, for now, the residents are managing with the borewell installed by the BBMP. I know that they are suffering due to lack of Cauvery connection to this part of the city. But we will get the connection by the end of this year.”
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