Abel
My name is Abel. I am 37 years old. I am living in Bapuji Nagar, Bangalore, next to a company's quarters. Recently, we have formed an association in the area and are agitating for our rights.We have had our ups and downs in the past 30 years and have been living in constant fear.
My house is tiled, and consists of a small room and kitchen measuring 10 square feet. As the house is not my own, I cannot make any alterations or modifications to it. There are 9 of us who live in this small house. We do not have a proper bathing place. We have to go to the open fields of the company adjoining our house to answer the calls of nature. My relatives who visit me can't stay in my house for more than a day. With hutments everywhere there is no place for the children to play. We have to walk 200 feet to fetch water. About a furlong away, there is a B.T.S. bus stop from where we get buses to K.R.Market and Majestic city area.
Right in front of the place where we stay, there is a drain (sewer). The drain is a river called 'Vedavati', in which all the sewage of Bangalore city flows. In other words it is a sewage pit or drain which is 20 meters wide. Our children get sick quite often because of this drain. As there is no government hospital anywhere nearby, we have to go to far-off private clinics for treatment.
There are about 130 houses in the area but literate people are very few. After school, the children who come back home, go out and loaf around forgetting the house and their studies. The children loaf around as there is no place to even teach them.
Our surroundings have become host to a great stench, mosquitoes and dirt because of the drain. It has become uninhabitable for human beings. My family and myself are living here because we have no other choice.
