Chaotic and confusion prevailed at the Sammukha (Jana Spandana) programme organised by the BBMP on Tuesday to hear public grievances and redress them, at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Malleswaram.
The event was marred by noisy scenes all through and some even raised the question whether it was a party programme or a BBMP event. The residents were restless and the MLAs irritated and annoyed. Even as grievances of a few residents were being heard by Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy, BBMP Commissioner M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda and other authorities at the Sammukha, a group of youths bearing flags started shouting “Bolo Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and demanded that their grievances be heard first.
Malleswaram MLA Dr Ashwath Narayan’s efforts to convince the youths to air their grievances when their turn came went in vain and the MLA had to accept a copy of the memorandum. Complaints related to shortage of water supply, poor roads, transport and other civic issues were brought to the notice of authorities and public representatives.
The situation became tense once again when members of the weaving community from Gayatrinagar raised objections about the notice on the weaving community. They asked when objections were not raised in other areas, why was Gayatrinagar targeted? Alleging that this was being done with an ulterior motive, they demanded an immediate reply from the joint commissioner. However, MLA Ashwath Narayan said than a reply could not be given until the grievances of others were heard.
Another round of accusations came from a resident of Malleswaram, Mr B.R. Gopala Rao, who was furious with the BBMP for the inordinate delay in construction of the C.N.R. Rao underpass near the IISc.
“The vehicles are being diverted to the residential area disturbing the peace and harmony there. The movement of heavy vehicles has increased the pollution level and is causing health hazards. The BBMP must ensure that the project is completed at the earliest. “Besides, due to the apathy of the officials, Malleswaram has been subjected to haphazard growth with scores of commercial complexes coming up without parking spaces. As a result the public are forced to park their vehicles on the road making the congestion worse,” he said.