The Road to Hell

The Road to Hell
Vijay Times

NICKNAMED the ’Road to Hell’, this stretch which connects the T umkur Road with the Outer Ring Road never fails to send shivers down the spine of any motorist using it.

The condition of this 100-feetroad, or rather what is left of it, from the Nadini Layout police station to the Jalahalli cross is deplorable.

While a stretch of the road comes under the BCC s jurisdiction, the remaining falls under the Dasarahalli CMC limits. T orn between these two civic bodies, the road is ultimately neglected.

The motorists, using this stretch of four kilometres, devote their attention to negotiating the big craters found on the road.

Several thousand vehicles use this stretch, that passes through the Peenya industrial area, everyday and all of them are put through a trying time. Commuters and motorists using the stretch said that the authorities concerned had filled some of the patches with soil and jelly . However , now even those have disappeared.

Prakash, a petty shop owner , said the road had remained in this condition for the last one year .

"A few months back, they started the repair work.They filled some potholes and left. From then, we haven’t seen them here," he said.

Blaming the local politicians for the sad state of affairs, Shankar , a car driver, said: "Initially , the politicians had promised to get the road repaired after the rains. When the rains were no longer there, they said that the road would be repaired once the Zilla Panchayat elections were over . But now , they say that there is political uncertainty . I don’t know when they will complete the work." Kumaran, who is an industrialist by profession, said : " W e are fed up with the negligence of the authorities. If officials are made to travel on this stretch regularly they will know about our condition." Linga Reddy , a civil contractor , alleged that the authorities concerned were only interested in the percentages they got as commission from such contracts.

"The nexus between the contractors and the officials is the reason for this situation," he lamented.

Pointing to the dust emanating from the road, he remarked : "This is how the authorities have done their work of filling potholes."

EXPERT SPEAK

Suggesting a few steps to improve the stretch, T raffic Engineers and Safety T rainers ( TEST) chairman M N Sreehari said road signs should be properly displayed at all the strategic points on the stretch. Lane marking and lane discipline should be enforced, he emphasised.

"A flyover should be constructed for T umkur Road to ensure smooth traffic. This will help in segregating highway traffic from the Ring Road traffic which will enhance road safety ," he opined.

OFFICIAL TAKE

Dasarahallii CMC Commissioner Suprasanna said, As there is a heavy traffic movement on this road, the repair work is going on at a snail s pace.

Some of the industries in this area dispose the garbage on the road itself, causing more obstruction into the work, he said.

Also, the delay of payments to the contractors are in turn delaying the work, he added.