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Contractor was upset over bribery allegations by locals. Residents of HBR Layout were happy when their representatives, KJ George, MLA, and B Govindaraju, corporator, attended the

inauguration of the development works in their area on August 3. The contractor, assigned for the works, arranged a pooja at 11 am near BSNL office.  The elected representatives did what

they were supposed to do on the occasion and the contractor distributed sweets to mark the commencement of laying the underground drainage pipes.  He even brought a truckload of UGD pipes,

sand and bricks for the purpose. That was all. The residents were shocked as the works material was soon shifted to another location. They were told that the contractor was not happy with

the comments made by some locals. “I was told that the contractor was upset when a few people commented on the bribe paid by him to the authorities concerned to get the contract work,’’ said

a resident. The residents were demanding the elected representatives to replace the existing UGD pipe with a bigger one to avoid the overflow of sewage water due to blockage in the pipe. To

cite one case, United Auto Works garage on 80 ft Road was inundated with sewage water overflowing from the manhole.  “We’d to shift a compressor and other instruments due to sewage water.

Though I complained to the BBMP authorities, nothing was done even after a week,’’ said Mohammed Khan, a garage employee. To get some relief, the garage workers bore a hole in the wall to

drain the sewage water to a vacant site. This only added to the woes of the residents. “I’ve to keep my windows closed to avoid the bad smell emanating from sewage water stagnating on the

weedy, vacant site,’’ said H Fernandes, a resident. The residents of 16th and 17th cross had complained about the negligence of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) authorities.

“The BWSSB laid 20 mm diameter UGD pipe more than a decade ago. There were a few houses. Now, the number of houses has increased, but the BWSSB failed to replace the existing UGD pipe with

a bigger one to facilitate the steady flow of sewage water,’’ said Asiya, a homemaker. Ramesh, assistant executive engineer, BWSSB, assured the residents to send his deputy to the spot on

Thursday. He said that nobody had brought the problem to his notice. Govindaraju said the work on 80ft Road was stopped due to technical problems. “I’ll take steps to begin work at any cost.

I’ve already discussed it with the authorities,’’ he said. He said he was aware of sewage water flooding the road. “I’d visited the spot. I know the difficulties of the residents. I will

direct the BWSSB engineers to redress the grievance without any delay,’’ he said.