The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bommanahalli residents stage protest

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Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bommanahalli residents stage protest

Staff Reporter

Through collective struggle, they succeed in getting concrete assurances from officials

They are seeking ration cards, drinking water
The agitation had the support of trade unions

— PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

ONE VOICE: Bommanahalli residents staging a protest in support of their demands in Bangalore on Monday.

BANGALORE: The residents of Bommanahalli Zone in the city have, through collective struggle, succeeded in getting concrete assurances from the officials concerned that their long-pending demands would be resolved. The demands include issue of ration cards, provision for drinking water and asphalting of roads.

The assurances came after the residents, under Bommanahalli Pradesha Nagarika Hitarakshana Samithi, staged a protest in front of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Zonal Office at Bommanahalli on Monday. The agitation was supported by various trade union organisations in the area.

Though more than 46,000 people had submitted applications for issue of ration cards, the authorities concerned had not conducted any survey to identify the beneficiaries.

The area, which came under BBMP, did not have proper drinking water supply. Almost all the roads in the zone lacked asphalting and when it rained, the residents had to wade through knee-deep slush. The samithi had been urging the BBMP to clear encroachment on Raja Kaluves (major drains).

Samithi convener S. Lakshman Kumar told The Hindu that the Joint Director of Food and Civil Supplies, Muniswamy Naidu, who met the protesters, promised to carry out a survey with the help of the BBMP to identify beneficiaries for issuing ration cards.

Similarly, BBMP authorities have promised to sink adequate number of borewells to address the drinking water problem and asphalt main roads by the second week of April.

After the officials’ assurances, the samithi, which had planned an indefinite protest, withdrew the dharna, said Mr. Lakshman Kumar.

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