The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) hosted a forum for apartment residents in Bengaluru on Saturday, March 25 inviting them to share and discuss their grievances. Among the issues discussed were problems related to water supply and garbage collection in apartments in the city.
In a four-hour session, which involved residents raising a series of questions related to the city's infrastructure and governance, senior Congress leaders promised apartment dwellers that their problems will be heard and addressed if their party comes back to power in the state this year.
The forum was hosted by the former Member of Parliament Rajeev Gowda at the Shangri-La Hotel in the city on Saturday morning. Among the speakers were senior Congress leaders DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru MLAs Krishna Byre Gowda, Rizwan Arshad, and Ramalinga Reddy.
Verghese Kurien, a resident, highlighted how apartments across the city were finding it difficult to access water and are forced to pay exorbitant amounts charged by water tankers that provide water to apartments. "It is a nightmare to wake up in the morning and find out there is an issue with the water supply. We cannot argue with water tankers who charge a lot of money to bring water to the apartment," Verghese said.
Responding to the question, Krishna Byre Gowda, MLA, Byatarayanapura constituency, said that there is a need to ensure Cauvery water reaches apartment complexes. "The completion of the Cauvery Stage V project will help address this issue. This stage will increase the allocation for Bengaluru in supplying water from the Cauvery river. There is an artificial scarcity of water created by the lack of action taken by the present state government," Krishna Byre Gowda said.
Responding to this, Rajeev Gowda, suggested that rainwater harvesting can be taken up in apartments in Bengaluru to conserve water. "There are farmers and residents in other states who will also require the water from the Cauvery. We can find solutions like installing recharge pits to harness rainwater," Rajeev Gowda said.
This was the first forum of the KPCC's apartment cell, created in January 2023, to reach out to apartment residents in the city. Led by Rajeev Gowda, the apartment cell is hoping to find ways to involve Bengaluru's apartment residents in the city's local governance.
The Congress aims to create a portal for apartment-related issues with a status-tracking mechanism under Sakala, the government initiative to ensure time-bound services to the public. Among its other stated aims are organising regular Bengaluru One Suvidha Melas with stakeholders including BWSSB, BESCOM, BBMP, and others in every assembly constituency.