Mysuru: The residents of Shobha Garden, located near the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway in N.R. Mohalla, staged a protest this morning demanding basic amenities for their layout.

The protesters stated that despite timely payment of property taxes to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) every year, the layout, which was approved by MUDA, lacks essential amenities such as drinking water, underground drainage (UGD), and street lights.

The residents revealed that MUDA has collected approximately Rs. 25,000 annually in property tax for the past 12 years.

Currently, the residents rely on their own borewell for drinking water, and in the absence of UGD, they have set up a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) within the layout. They have also been covering the cost of street lights.

In addition to these issues, the residents have been demanding that MUDA hand over the layout to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) for better governance and service delivery.

However, their requests, which have been ongoing for the past five years, have gone unaddressed. Faced with no other recourse, the residents began an indefinite dharna in the middle of the road, blocking UGD work  to N.R. Mohalla.

Present at the protest were Shobha Gardens Residents Association President Mumtaz Begum, Secretary Wg. Cdr. Jabir Tareen, Treasurer Ft. Lt. B.M. Kamath, Prof. Noor Ahmed Durrani, Prof. Aneesa Durrani, Ashraf, Mohammed Sait, Mohammed Umar and others.