Bengaluru residents say they paid Rs 4,000-18,000 to reconnect sewage pipes

BENGALURU: Residents of Maruthi Sevanagar in east Bengaluru claim to have paid thousands of rupees to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) contractors just to have their pipes reconnected to the newly laid main sewage pipeline.
Board officials, however, say contractors can’t ask residents for anything other than the requisite material and labour charges.
“A few months ago, our road was dug up by the authorities to lay a new sewage pipeline after 15 years. Once the main pipeline was laid, the contractors said we would have to pay between Rs 4,000 and Rs 8,000 to reconnect our individual pipes to it. When we said we would get our local plumber to do the work, they dissuaded us, saying if we hired an outside party, they would have to pay additional road-cutting charges, which would increase the cost to Rs 25,000. They promised us speedy execution of the work, so we were practically forced into accepting their offer,” claimed Yuvin Sridhar, who lives on Mudappa Road, near Orion East mall. He added that all houses on his street have paid up the amount.
On 1st Cross Road, D’Costa Layout, residents said they have been asked to pay more than double the sum — Rs 8,000-Rs 18,000 per house or apartment complex.
“This road has been in a terrible shape since last July, with the authorities first digging it up to lay the gas pipeline and then power cables. In February, they started work on laying the sewage pipeline, and the contractors started asking each household for hefty sums. They didn’t tell us what the money would be used for, and even when we paid up, we didn’t receive any receipt, so we have no idea where the money ultimately went,” said a resident, adding that since she lives in an apartment complex she only paid Rs 1,000, but inhabitants of individual houses were asked to shell out more than 10 times the amount.
Sreya Urs, another resident, said she decided to ask her own plumber to do the job, as the contractor’s charges were too high. “The contractor asked me to pay Rs 8,000, but I refused and employed my own plumber. A few others also did the same, and ended up paying only Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000, she added.
“BWSSB officials said we only had to pay the labour cost and provide the material, but this is difficult to implement on the ground, as residents are laypersons who won’t know what kind of material to buy,” Sreya said, adding that the work seems to have slowed down due to a huge granite block which is acting as a hindrance.