There was once peace and quiet here. But today OBMR Layout in Banaswadi is filled with the noise of buildings under construction and college students speeding on their bikes through its streets. at all times. To Jairam M., who has lived in the area for three decades, the change is unbearable .
With a number of colleges having mushroomed in the vicinity, the layout has become home to students and faculty members who have created a huge demand for paying guest accommodation, according to him. This in turn has led to a spurt in construction activity in the area with multi-storeyed buildings dotting it to accommodate the students. “The students, who are mostly foreigners, return late at night after enjoying the city's night life and cause great disturbance . They also gather in groups at street corners which is a nuisance for women and children,” he complains.
People are also kept awake by the construction work in progress in the layout, which doesn't let up even after the given deadline, Mr Jairam adds. “The builders blatantly violate the bye-laws by not providing for the set-back area in their buildings and dump the construction material on the road in such large quantities that it ends up blocking it and coming in the way of motorists,” he deplores. While acknowledging that construction material can be stocked on the roadside by builders if they have paid a ground rent to the BBMP, he points out that they cannot, however, inconvenience oncoming traffic in the process. “We have complained several times to the police and the BBMP , but so far nothing has been done. The BBMP doesn't seem to care about the building violations and the police merely promise to step up patrolling , which hasn't happened to date,” he maintains.