Bengaluru, 11 Nov

The residents of 500-odd houses in the slum on Dr TCM Royan Road near Majestic in City have been grappling with leaky roofs, shortage of toilets, erratic water supply and drug addiction among the youth. To make matters worse, the State government plans to demolish some houses due to their proximity to a rajakaluve (big canal). 

A few months ago, Minister of Housing BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan visited the slum and informed residents about the demolition plans, offering relocation to Magadi, around 50km away from the City. However, the majority of the residents are daily-wage workers who depend on jobs in Bengaluru, and the prospect of commuting to Magadi for work is not practical.

“The Minister told us they will give us homes in Magadi. But we are all daily-wage workers and come to the City every day. To travel from Magadi to Bengaluru daily for work will not be feasible for us,” said Balayya, a daily-wage worker from the slum.

When Salar News tried to contact Khan to raise the concerns of residents, the minister was unavailable.

Lack of basic necessities 

In addition to the relocation issue, the slum, situated just 5km from Vidhana Soudha, lacks basic facilities.  “We get water supply from 1am to 2 am on alternate days. After working hard all day we have to wait the whole night waiting for water. If we miss it, we have to spend money on water,” said Selvi, who runs a small canteen on Dr TCM Royan Road.

The shortage of toilets is another area of concern for the residents. The newer buildings built by the government have bathrooms and toilets of their own, but not the old ones. 

A ‘Sulabh Shauchalaya Toilet Complex’ was built here to help the residents, but it hardly has running water or cleanliness. There is only one such complex in the area. “Sometimes it leads to a fight because residents near the toilet complex do not like it if people from the other side are using it but there is no other option,” said Sunita, a resident of the slum.

Drugs

A majority of youngsters in the slum are victims of substance abuse, especially ganja or marijuana, residents said. “Many youngsters here are prone to drugs and alcohol. All are in their 20s and we do not how they are getting these drugs,” said Selvi, a resident. 

A police official of Cottonpet station said: “We are trying our best to know the source of the drugs. We have chased the youngsters taking drugs but missed them. We are planning to take stricter measures to curb the substance abuse.” 

Waste Management 

There is a dump yard next to the slum. “We are cleaning the waste twice every day but still there is a lot of garbage. People here do not have awareness about cleanliness,” said a BBMP Pourakarmika who clears the dump yard. The continuous accumulation of garbage is leading to mosquito infestations and an unpleasant odour.

Amid these challenges, the slum residents remain hopeful for a better tomorrow. —Salar News