Ornamental plants and beautiful flowers and their rich fragrance greet visitors at the entrance of Siddapura main road opposite Lalbagh Siddapura Gate.
Siddapura is known for the many plant nurseries that line the road. But just 100 yards further down the Siddapura main road, the sights and smells are quite different.
The unbearable stench from piles of rotting garbage is nauseating even to the casual passerby.
The road and a storm water drain are occupied by mounds of garbage made worse in the wake of the Bakri Id festival, with animal waste dumped here attracting stray dogs, flies and mosquitoes.
For residents of Siddapur, opposite Lalbagh Siddapura Gate, life is miserable with garbage and general filth untouched and uncleared by the municipal corporation.
Due to the unhygienic environment many people are falling sick. Even the attractive nurseries are being abandoned as people don’t want to venture into the area.
Y. Chetan Kumar owner of Y. Munivenkatappa and Sons nursery said that the accumulating garbage and unbearable stench are a daily ordeal. Waste from chicken and meat stalls is thrown recklessly without any thought for hygiene.
There seems to be no rule of law in this area with vehicles parked haphazardly in front of the nursery’s gate, as the road has become a parking lot.
Neither the vehicle owners nor the traffic police have paid any attention to requests to clear the road, said Mr Kumar.
In fact, the police actually said they would install the no parking boards if the residents bought them, Mr Kumar says.
Siddapura is an old and therefore neglected part of the city. The roads are narrow and have not seen black topping for years now. Traffic is heavy and chaotic and streetlights are often damaged by miscreants.
The authorities seem little concerned at this deterioration.