Smooth ride on City roads still a distant dream

Smooth ride on City roads still a distant dream
Vijay Times

ILL the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) live up to Chief Minister N Dharam Singh’s directions to spruce up the City roads by July end? Going by t civic body’s failure in meeting the previous deadlines with regard to road laying works, will be a dream come true for any Bangalorean to see well laid and pothole-free roads in the City within the deadline.

It may be recalled that Dharam Singh, at a recent meeting, had taken the civic body to task for the appalling state of roads in the City and set a new deadline to complete the roa works. Even the BCC Commissioner, K Jothiramalingam assured that the road works will be completed by July-end.

But residents of many areas in the City have lost hopes in the civic body and are in no position to believe their assurances.

MAGADI ROAD ROAD TO HELL

It is road to hell for motorists passing through Magadi Road that cuts through Kamakshipalya, V rishabhavathi Nagar and Sunkada Kattte. The battered roads with deep craters result in freak mishaps day in and day out.

After the formation of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) by the BDA, the movement of vehicles to and from Peenya and Mysore Road has considerably increased. Presently , Magadi Road carries 7,000 PCUs (passenger car units) per hour .

With thousands of vehicles passing through this stretch, the pathetic condition of the road between Kamakshipalya and the V rishabhavthi bridge, stands testimony to the apathy of the civic authorities concerned. The incessant rains that lashed the City during September-October last year has further damaged the roads with water flooding the road.

The road between the Housing Board junction and the V rishabhavathi bridge which appears smooth and even from a distance suddenly opens up with huge potholes only to lead you in a ditch if you fail to manoeu them.

Speaking to BVT , Mahadevappa, an auto driver said that the black topping on the road, which was asphalted a few months ago, is n where to be seen today . The road was further damaged following work on the V rishabhavathi bridge. Our repeated complaints to restore the road has fallen on deaf ears of the civic body , he added.

"It is difficult to ply the autos on this road. When a bike rider met with an accident three months back, we staged a protest against the bad condition of the road. It had no effect on them," he said.

Further , it is a mess during the rainy season with no proper drainage system. W ater logging on the road causes further inconvenience to motorists, Narayanaswamy another road user said.

T raffic inspector K N Siddapa, attached to Kamakshipalya police station, said that the policemen were doing the work of the local representative concerned by filling the potholes often with soil and jelly stones.

According to him, the loaded lorries often breakdown when they move on the deep potholes. During such instances, the policemen clear the road with the help of local people. According to T raffic Engineers and Safety T rainers ( TEST ) chairman M N Sreehari, th alignment of any ring road should in the form of a ring. Unfortunately , the ring road connects Peenya and Mysore Road breaks at the Magadi Road junction. With this, the ver concept of a ring road is deceived.

All major roads in the City , ie., the art roads, should invariably have service roads. But there are no service roads on either side of the Magadi road. This forces all types of v cles moving on the main road thus resulting in potholes and battered condition. Quality roads should be laid scientifically as per specifications.

Instead of restrengthening the V rishabhavathi bridge, the same should have been rebuilt by the authorities keeping in mind the heavy traffic movement in the year to come. If the vehicular traffic on this crosses 10,000 PCUs, the road may require a flyover at the ORR junction, feels Sreehari. P K Srihari, BCC Additional Commissioner (Finance) In the 2005-206 Budget, the BCC had allocated an outlay of Rs 25 to 30 lakh for ward to take up resurfacing or re-chip carpeting of roads in the respective wards. Thoug the tender process was over in September itself, the work was delayed as the rains tinued till November end. W ork orders for t same has been issued and the road work wil begin in some wards today and by W ednesday it will stabilise in all the hundred wards.

Further , road works under other projects have begun in various wards including in th IT BT sector . By June end, 60 to 70 per cent of the road works will be complete.