What’s That Smell? It’s the Drainage Water Flowing in Heart of City since a Week

What’s That Smell? It’s the Drainage Water Flowing in Heart of City since a Week

 Mangaluru : What’s that smell? That’s what the commuters passing by the road stretch from Catholic Club till Hampankatta Junction/near Taj Mahal restaurant want to know. The stinky neighborhood in question is this stretch of the City’s busiest road and it’s in the heart of the city and since a week no officials from the district administration nor Mangaluru City Corporation has addressed and rectified this problem. How many times Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil, Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil, Superintendent of Police, IGP Western range, and many other big honchos from the Panchayat and govt departments have passed by this stretch of the road- and it looks like everyone has turned a blind eye towards this flow of stinky drainage water.

Nearby business owners say some days the smell is unbearable, and few people living nearby have gone to extreme measures to escape the stink. These isn’t the only one holding their nose, but commuters passing by this spot on buses and other vehicles, and even pedestrians have experienced the smell, and not much they can do, but bear with the smell. Located right in the heart of the city, the neglect to this location makes on wonder, how can a city boast about its status as “Smart City”, when simple water drainage flow on a busy road takes place. Are our officials too lazy to address this issue or just ignorant, to stay quite assuming that it doesn’t bother them.

The owners of businesses in that area who regularly take this path, have been facing severe trouble and inconvenience due to the flow of drainage water on to the road and water logging since several days. The water is getting stagnated and most of it is stranded near the auto-rickshaw stand right in front of Taj Mahal restaurant. “Water stagnation has become a major issue here, as we face a lot of difficulties while we park our vehicle here. The stagnant water has turned dark green and has become a breeding place for mosquitoes.” said Ravi, a auto rickshaw driver.

For over a week, the civic body’s apathy and lackadaisical attitude in rectifying this problem has many angry, and even after complaints made, no one has taken any action, say nearby residents. “Yes, just because there isn’t a Mayor or corporators at present, it is not the right time to play the blame game. If the MMC officials are not doing their duty, someone has to do it. Why the delay in fixing a simple water drainage issue” said a nearby restaurant employee. Hope at least this report will awake the concerned authorities in MCC to take action, so that the present situation will not be a major one during heavy downpour.

Photo Credit : Sandeep Veigas, Gerard Towers, Mangaluru