SP Road reels under power shortage

BANGALORE, INDIA: Karnataka has been facing tremendous problems with regards to electricity and water. With the onset of an early summer, the problems have worsened in Bengaluru. Sardar Patrappa Road or popularly known as SP Road is where most of the people shop for their electronic goods. The lane is chockablock to at least 150 dealers selling all kinds of electronic products.

Kamlesh Jain, Proprietor, Premier Computers revealed that parking is a major problem. “As the lanes are very narrow, not just customers, we also face a lot of problem in parking. Each time an adjacent lane is dug up, the number of vehicles competing for parking doubles.” Sharing a similar point of view, Mukul Anand of Compuvision Infotech said, “We are operating under very tight margins. Due to an early summer, we are facing power cuts for almost five to six hours a day. The cost of running a UPS or generator is taking a toll on our costs but we do not know if the government is doing anything to solve this issue.”

Nalin Patel of Ankita Electronics and Secretary of AIT said, “These perennial problems have been plaguing SP Road since its inception. It is partly the dealers responsibility to come out and talk about their problems to various government bodies, media and IT associations too.

In addition to this, the SP Road dealers face a lot of problems from vendors. When asked about the role of AIT, Patel said, “We urge the dealers to approach the association with their problems. There is no point in forming an association when dealers hesitate to come out in open and talk about their problems. If any dealer has documentary evidence and proof, AIT will support and solve his grievance.”

Bengaluru has witnessed two fire accidents in the recent past. In such cases, narrow roads make the fire engines impossible to get inside. Bharat Jain of Pragathi Computers said, “Because of the developments and shops built on both sides of the road, it is very narrow. Parking becomes very difficult for us and the customers as well.”

Cleanliness is another issue with which these dealers deal on a day-to-day basis. Talking about the same, Anand said, “The streets are not cleaned on a daily basis. Even though there are dustbins in the vicinity, people do not make use of it. Post the rainfalls, the entire area is filled with mud and it becomes very difficult to walk.”

After the recent elections, dealers expect the city corporation officials to take the matter into consideration. The DQ Week urges the dealers of SP Road to approach the local IT association to resolve issues proactively.