27th Main sewage overflows

BWSSB takes action; but problem is still not fully resolved

By Qamar ZJ

Shoppers and shopkeepers are turning up their noses whenever they frequent any of the shops and restaurants on 27th Main Road. Particularly near Juice Junction and Tomatina. Earlier, it used to be near the HSR police station. But now, the action of sewage overflow has shifted down the road towards Multiplex supermarket. This is not a story of today but a recurring tale for the last 18 months.

“This is a regular affair,” says J Gangatharan who runs a library on 27th Main. “The sewage overflow on the road began more than 1.5 years ago. We don’t know the reason.”

Some residents believe that the cause could be restaurants like Juice Junction, Tomatina and Hyderabad Biryani. “Their workers might be dumping waste into the drains that clog the flow,” said one shopkeeper not wishing to be named. “The root cause are the other residents and restaurateurs. When the waste material is removed, it’s all food waste. Ours is a high point area. Nothing can settle here unless someone is dumping waste right in this area. The sewage cleaning by the authorities is patchwork. It’s clean today and unclean again tomorrow.”

The irony of this is that the restaurants are as much affected by their own alleged involvement. “Who wants to eat food when we have to get across the sewage flowing all over the road?” complained one resident. “Just the sewage smell keeps me away from this stretch of the road.”

Sayabanna, the proactive assistant engineer of BWSSB said that he’s surprised that the issue is still not resolved. “We had flushed out the liquid particles only two days ago,” he said. “There was a major blockage near the police station.” About the frequent recurrence of the problem, he said, “Workers dump waste during night time and it’s hard to monitor at around that time. But we will clear the mess, not to worry.”

Gangatharan is still not convinced by his assurances. “The authorities keep cleaning every month or so, but it’s a recurring problem. Why is it being fixed every month? Those responsible must be fined and the problem should be resolved once and for all.”