By Mohan Kayaka

Mysore/Mysuru: Even 23 years after its formation, the SBM Colony on Bogadi Main Road in the city is found lacking in civic amenities, thus bringing worries for the residents who are wondering when their plight will end. 

The SBM Housing Co-operative Society had formed the Bogadi Road SBM Colony in 135- acre area, allotting about 1,500 sites to its members over two decades ago. The Colony was divided into four equal sections apparently with an objective for providing better facilities. But the plan seems to have gone waste as the Colony is found wanting for basic infrastructure. 

Soon after the sites were allotted by the Society, the allottees started construction of houses and more than 300 houses have come up in the locality. 

Having occupied the houses, the residents are complaining about lack of civic facilities such as drinking water, Underground drainage, asphalted roads, proper sanitation system and the like. The residents complain that there is no park in the locality and MUDA which collects taxes from them too is turning them away under the pretext that the Colony has not yet been handed over to it.

Accusing the Society of improper planning and unscientific layout development, the residents  allege poor quality of construction of the drainage, which was built at  a cost of  just Rs. 94 lakh as against the estimate of Rs. 4 crore. Alleging that manholes of the drainage system have come apart due to poor quality of construction, the residents say that they are forced to live amidst the stench arising out of the drainage that overflows whenever it rains heavily.

Noting that the Colony has a threshold capacity of 6,000 people, the residents maintain that there is not even a single Overhead Water Tank in the entire Colony, which itself explains the apathy of the Layout developers. Claiming that the Colony is getting water only once in three days, they say that they have to rush to neighbouring localities whenever they need more water for meeting emergencies.

Complaining that none of the roads in the Colony is free of potholes, the residents say that many roads remain to be asphalted even after two decades. Pointing out that the poor condition of the roads is severely hampering vehicular movement, they allege that it is a common sight to see drainage water flowing on roads.

Asserting that the Colony in the beginning had 6 parks including a playground, the residents said that now this number has come down to three and none of them are developed. They themselves have developed the parks to a certain extent by planting saplings and installing benches, they said and added that the playground has now been converted as sites.

Stating that parthenium weeds are thriving in the locality in the absence of any maintenance, they sarcastically said that the locality can be called as a Parthenium Park! Also piles of uncleared garbage is dotting the locality, thus giving them a feeling that they are living in slums, even though they have constructed homes spending lakhs of rupees.

Meanwhile, the residents are also facing a different problem, this time from members and past members of Bogadi Gram Panchayat. These members are developing sites inside the parks saying that the space of land belong to them. Some of them have even begun preparations to construct homes. 

The GP members are alleged to have assaulted  some of the residents when they questioned them over the construction, according to a Colony resident who did not want to be identified.

The aggrieved residents said that the locality had 1,301 sites in a 135-acre  area when the colony was first proposed in 1995. But subsequently, due to alterations in the original plan, the number of sites went up to 1,500 in 2003. Subsequent to the development of the layout, CA sites, Parks, playground and other lung spaces too have been converted as sites, much to the dismay of the residents. 

Also, the wider roads have been encroached upon, thus considerably reducing vehicular movement space. They also allege that MUDA which collect tax from them has remained a silent spectator to all this, saying that the Society has not yet handed over the Colony to it.