Dirt track passes off as road in Koramangala

Dirt track passes off as road in Koramangala
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The three-km stretch of road from the corner of I Block I Main to the IOC petrol pump on 80-ft Road in Koramangala has been in a poor state since August 2003, when the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) started digging the road to lay sewage pipes.

But even a year after the pipeline was laid, the roads have been in the same state though the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) got it sanctioned under a World Bank scheme.

According to BCC sources, the delay in resurfacing the road was due to two reasons. First, the Bangalore Development Authority’s refusal to allow permission to cut through the Intermediate Ring Road junction. The BWSSB was forced to employ expensive technology to dig under the road and connect the pipes.

The second is BCC road contractors’ demand to hike the tender, citing cost escalation. ‘‘They’re asking for a 30 percent escalation, while we are ready to offer them 20 percent more,’’ a BCC source told this website’s newspaper.

Fed up with the delay and the pre-monsoon showers that are damaging the road further, the residents in the once posh neighbourhood have petitioned BCC officers, local corporators, MLAs and even the MP.

‘‘Though all of them promised help, nothing has been done for the last few months,’’ says an exasperated Maj (Rtd) P. Kapoor, a resident.

Last week, Uttarahalli MLA R. Ashok visited the areas, but all he could do was sympathise with the local residents. When contacted, he said: ‘‘I am aware of the condition of the roads here. I will take it up with the BCC. Though the work has been sanctioned under a World Bank scheme, I believe there is a matter of escalation that is to be settled between the BCC and the contractors. I am sure, work will begin soon.’’

But residents are apprehensive and point to all the infrastructure projects that have come to a standstill in the city.

‘‘This World Bank road is one such project. I am sure work will be taken up only after the monsoon a few months later,’’ said Sumana another resident.