Bengaluru’s community halls: Essential and affordable spaces hard to come by Premium

Dr. Saravana S., a local resident, says that the hall, which could serve the public for many purposes at an affordable price, is being used by some people at night to consume alcohol, as a parking lot for car owners in the surrounding areas and has become a public toilet throughout the day.

A Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)-owned community hall in Jayanagar 9th Block, East End, appears all ready for use, but has not been formally opened for public use for close to four years. The residents have no clue why.

Dr. Saravana S., a local resident, says that the hall, which could serve the public for many purposes at an affordable price, is being used by some people at night to consume alcohol, as a parking lot for car owners in the surrounding areas and has become a public toilet throughout the day.

“The BBMP spent close to ₹3.5 crores to build the community hall. When we recently questioned why there was a delay, they claimed that a sum of ₹10 lakh was required for some additional work, and it would open after that. We wrote letters to the Chief Minister, the BBMP commissioners in charge of the zone, and the MLA asking when the hall will be opened, but we have got no response so far,“ Saravana narrates.

This is not an isolated case, with community halls meant to be maintained by the BBMP in several areas being either non-existent, standing incomplete or falling into disuse. For example, two community halls built many decades ago were demolished in order to give the area a new and well-equipped community hall in Pulikeshinagar and Jogupalya two years ago.

Residents of Jogupalya, Halasuru, Murphy Town, Pulikeshi Nagar, Cox Town, Kallahalli, and the surrounding areas were initially delighted when the civic authorities demolished the old buildings and started constructing new ones. However, despite the construction of the new community halls commencing two years ago, progress has remained frustratingly slow.  

Srinivasa B., a resident of Pulikeshi Nagar says, “There are no community halls in the Cox Town area, forcing poor and lower-middle-class families to spend extra money on private venues for weddings and birthday celebrations. If the BBMP authorities could urge the contractor to speed up construction, it would greatly benefit these families. It would provide much-needed support to economically weaker families from Shivajinagar, Pulikeshi Nagar, and C.V. Raman Nagar assembly constituencies.” 

Thippeswamy, the executive engineer in charge of the construction of the Pulikeshinagar community hall, says the hall will be ready for public in the next six months. “Work on the basement and ground floor is completed. Currently, the stress examination is happening to check the stability of the other floors. What is pending is the construction of compound wall, parking lot etc. There is a delay due to rains and the curing process must be completed,” he adds.