After the budget is when it will all begin

BANGALORE: The BBMP promised that it would make more playgrounds, provide drinking water and clear out the garbage in the city. And the newly elected mayor Sharadamma Ramanjaneya is here to execute them. But is everything going according to plan?Parks are in plenty in the city for little children to play in, but there are no playgrounds where older children can play. They have either been taken over by builders to construct huge buildings or by local residents to dump garbage. So the BBMP has promised to convert some of the existing parks which are not being used into playgrounds for children. So far no work towards this has begun. “We are waiting for our budget to be fixed. Once that is done the work will start. We should be able to start next month,” says the Mayor.Drinking water is being supplied to the areas where it is needed. Water tankers have been organised to carry drinking water. Borewells are also being dug. But there are already too many borewells and ground water is depleting. When asked about how they will recharge ground water, the Mayor said she will implement rain water harvesting in the city. “Rain water harvesting must be done in all the houses. It is compulsory for all the new buildings to have a rain water harvesting system. It will also be implemented in parks and playgrounds shortly.” she says.Garbage disposal is also a huge issue on the city. We were promised better and more efficient disposal systems. “The people should be aware of their environment. They should learn to keep their surroundings clean. They should not discard their waste by throwing it in the gutter or in front of the neighbour’s house. There is a limit to how much we can do. People should also cooperate with us to keep the city clean,” says the Mayor.“We are waiting for the budget to be fixed. We will start the works as soon as that is done,” she says.