It’s possible to put up with only so much. As problems have spiralled out of control in Malleswaram, the people’s patience appears to have finally run out. The fed up residents vented their frustration with the mess in the locality, burdened with traffic, noise and vehicles parked randomly in its narrow lanes at the mayor’s Janaspanadana programme on Tuesday, surprising him with their vehemence. There was no doubting their anger as they complained loudly about the problems dogging the once peaceful locality.
Ironically, the now crowded Malleswaram with buildings occupying every inch of it, including the malls and commercial complexes that have found their way here of late, derives its name from the famous Kaadu (forest) Malleshwara temple. It grew as a suburb during the great plague when people moved out of the city centre. But poor planning and pathetic civic amenities have combined to make life hellish for people here today.
“Once Malleswaram was a planned layout with wide roads and all the required amenities. It had a rich cultural life, temples and was home to Nobel laureate C.V. Raman and famous sports personalities. But today it is saddled with a huge number of problems that make living here very difficult,” regrets Dr S. Kumar, member of Save Bangalore Committee. While traffic congestion, lack of parking space, and the inconvenience caused by the ongoing Namma Metro work, have already messed up their once peaceful existence, the people are now expected to also part with their properties to widen the roads, he observes angrily.
“The multiplexes and commercial malls are destroying Malleswaram where planning and holistic development have become alien terms for agencies like the BBMP, BDA and Namma Metro,” he adds, noting that every home from Malleswaram 1st to 17th cross has to put up with parked cars blocking its gate as shoppers heading for the complexes and malls park their vehicles in the bylanes.
“The BBMP has now opted for road widening as a solution. But why should the original residents of Malleswaram lose their inherited properties to make way for cars of shoppers? The authorities must confine multiplexes to the outskirts where there are wider roads,” say the upset residents, who believe that the Sankey and other roads are being widened in the area only for the benefit of builders and major realtors.