Even as visuals of Bengaluru’s flooded high-end societies and its residents’ tractor evacuations go viral, the slum dwellers of Kariyammana Agrahara at Bellandur and Munnekolala at Marathahalli are still awaiting a helping hand from the government, or anyone for that matter. With no aid seemingly in the offing, the residents here are spending day and night outside their inundated make-shift houses, waiting for the water to recede, with no access to shelter, food or even clean drinking water.
Those residing in these slums are mostly migrants from West Bengal, Assam and other northern states — many of whom work as rag pickers, domestic helps, or with app-based service providers. “A few days ago, we had woken up in the middle of the night to see that water had entered our huts. And it was rising quickly. There was no time to pack any of our belongings. We ran to the closest high-rise area and watched as our homes got flooded with water. All we could do was just stand there, shivering in rain,” says Khalil Mia, a resident of Munnekolala.
Owing to the lack of support from the government and the refusal of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to recognise them, the residents have instead been forced to rely on the mercy of their contractors and non-governmental organisations to provide them with essentials such as food. Left helpless, many of them feel indebted to even the people who provided them with a few metres of tarpaulin, to protect themselves from the rain. “The attitude of the BBMP is such that even if someone was to die in these localities, they would just say they were illegal encroachers. Who told them (slum dwellers) to live here, they would ask. No help ever comes for them,” says Leon Louis, who works as an ecologist in the area.
Apart from the obvious health concerns arising due to the stagnant water and lack of sanitary facilities, the residents have also raised concerns about the sneaking in of insects and reptiles. “We have spotted so many snakes, insects and scorpions here since the area got flooded. We are afraid to leave our children alone even for a second, because a poisonous snake or scorpion might bite them,” says Jamila Begum, another resident of Munnekolala. Exposed to the incessant rain with no access to a solid shelter or warm clothes, many of them are already suffering from cold, cough and fever. But even affording medicines is a struggle now, they say, as they have lost most of their earnings in the flood.