BANGALORE: A visit to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Anganwadi at Jayarajnagar in Murphy Town could scare you to death. The place is not only devoid of proper police patrolling but also lacks a compound wall and a gate. The BBMP building reserved for a physical fitness centre that is yet to be opened, has today turned into a beehive for vandals and also become a hub for illegal activities in its vicinity.The residents are heart broken at the continuing vandalism, as the BBMP which made efforts to build a gym at Jayarajnagar ‘A’ street, for the welfare of the youth in this area has turned out to be a ‘safe haven’ for the miscreants. When City Express visited the place to undertake a reality check we found that the door locks of the gym was broken and the place has been used for illegal purposes. When we probed further and headed towards the balcony, we could see many empty liquor packets, cigarette packets, snuff covers which were scattered all over the balcony, clearly indicating that the place was used by anti-social elements to consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes and other illegal activities. When we spoke to the nearby residents on the prevailing scenario in the night, M Mahendran, who resides adjacent to the anganwadi building said, “After sunset, this place transforms into a hub for illegal activities. Miscreants from other areas collude with the miscreants in Murphy Town and consume alcohol and vandalise the place. As there are no adequate street lights to expose their activities, they manage to escape from the eyes of the police”.When residents like Mahendran and others raised their voice against such activities, stones were pelted on their houses. Even after alerting the nearby Ulsoor Police Station about this issue, nothing has been done to stop the miscreants from vandalising.”They become extra alert when the beat police come here on duty. They jump from the back-side and vanish” added Mahendran.When we sought Hoysalanagar BBMP ward corporator Savitha Ramesh’s efforts to contain this problem, she said “Tenders have been called to build a compound wall surrounding the anganwadi and the gym. Once the tenders are allotted, works will begin soon. The compound wall will prevent the miscreants from barging into the premises and stop their illegal activities”.It was also found that the anganwadi premises lacked any maintenance, and we could see garbage strewn liberally inside the premises.Explaining over the action taken to keep the premises clean, Savitha added, “We have sought the SC/ST fund for the overall development of the anganwadi. Cleaning works are progressing and the whole place will be cleared off the garbage including plastic covers”.
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