A road to hell indeed

A road to hell indeed
Deccan Herald

Begur Main Road which is only link to the City is fast becoming a life-threatening feature with its menacing potholes, open drains, potpourri of vehicles

The phrase ‘Road to hell’ would take a bow if one were to traverse through the 3.5 kilometre Begur Main Road stretch in Bommanahalli near Electronic City.

The road that should have been a life-line to the people living near that road, as it is their only link to the City, is fast becoming a life-threatening feature with its menacing potholes, open drains, potpourri of vehicles like bullock carts, trucks and buses plying on that stretch. And better still, there is no particular shape or form to the entire road, making it impossible to fathom as to where the aphsalted part ends and where the side-walk begins.

According to Mr Issac Xavier, a resident who lives in Chamundeshwari Layout (one of the many localities that branch out from Begur Main Road) it has been nearly three years since any developmental work has been undertaken by the authorities.

“The roads have neither been tarred, repaired or aphsalted despite our repeated requests and several memorandums to the CMC authorities. If this continues, we are thinking of staging a dharna or a protest demanding immediate action,” he said. Other prominent residential layouts in that vicinity includes Royal Shelters,Vishwa Priya, Deo-heights and Royal Meredian .

To make matters worse, not a single traffic personnel is there to regulate the traffic on that entire stretch.

Mr Mathew Thomas, said driving through the stretch is an exercise that requires great dexterity, superb skills at manoeuvring and tonnes of good fortune to escape unscathed after each trip on that road.

“Vehicles are parked in no particular rhyme or fashion, since there is not any pedestrian side-walk to speak off. Vehicles on this road invariably jump lanes due to lack of space, making this stretch highly accident prone too,” he said.

Ms Hamsaraj, who has a daughter studying in VII standard is worried about her safety. Some parts of the road that have been dug deep for laying cables and is left unattended, she complained.

“There is not even a signboard that indicates about the dangerous zone ahead. There are times when I have to even accompany her,” she said.

When asked about the dismal state of affairs, Bommanahalli CMC Commissioner H M Udayashankar said the problem arose because the Begur Main Road was jointly controlled by Public Works Department and CMC and they were badly cash-strapped to conduct any maintenance work.

“As soon as we get the go-ahead from PWD, we will try to improve the condition of the road. For now, plans are being made to utilise Rs 2 lakh to fill the potholes shortly,” he said.