Kanakapura Main Road Is Hell, Complain Residents

Kanakapura Main Road Is Hell, Complain Residents
The Times of India

Kanakapura: Everybody expects a national highway to be smooth and level, where they can just floor the accelerator and zoom away. Kanakapura Main Road is probably the exception. The potholes on this national thoroughfare could match the craters on any of the city’s roads.

The road gets dusty as well. There’s a non-stop rumble of trucks on the main road. The outcome of the recent angry protest was a patching up of a few potholes. But residents feel there isn’t much improvement.

Nandakumar, director of a hotel on Kanakapura Road, says the dust even penetrates through the lobby doors. “My housekeeping staff is fed up since the place gets dusty every five minutes.” The residents of high-rise buildings have another complaint: the road is not safe anymore. Temple Trees Apartments Association president P K Varma says the road is terrible and the traffic is daunting. “It is like a paddy field. I am petrified of going out on the road, either by vehicle or on foot. The pavement is worse as the drains are open at some places and during heavy traffic, cyclists and two-wheelers come on to the pavement,” he says.

He adds, “Last year, we had a meeting with CMC members about the footpath but the condition is still the same. Also, the road has become narrower as there is a temple on the road. Lorries collide with the dividers at night and the knocked-down grills cause traffic jams the next day. Autorickshaws and taxi drivers either refuse to come to this area or they demand extra fare.”

The other problem is that one side of the road belongs to CMC Bommanahalli and the other to CMC Raja Rajeshwari Nagar. The residents complain that when they contact the CMC authorities, they direct them to the state government which, in turn, sends them to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Thankfully, schools here have vehicles to transport their children from their homes and back. Indira Anand Kothenath, Principal, Delhi Public School, says, “We don’t have any problem regarding our children’s safety as there are over 30 buses for their convenience. It’s good to see at least a little patchwork done on the main road. We can’t complain as most roads in Bangalore are the same.”

An employee from a hardware store says the road was laid about nine months ago but due to the inferior material used, the recent rains washed it away. He complains: “The patchwork is done only on one part of the road. There is no use of protesting. Our voice will never be heard.” Another store employee says, “This road is not a road at all. It’s jam-packed at peak hours even with the new traffic rules and policemen at the Kanakapura-Ring Road junction.”

The area councillor offers small consolation: “After the latest protests, we have undertaken patchwork of the road.”