Dirt, potholes, traffic jams plague Magadi Road

Dirt, potholes, traffic jams plague Magadi Road
The Times of India

Bangalore: Potholes, non-functional streetlights and damaged footpaths. Sounds familiar?

Welcome to Magadi Road, a stretch of woes that connects to the ring road junction leading to Tumkur. “A few years ago, the BWSSB dug up the road to lay roads. On completion, the road was not tarred properly. That is why the road is in such a pathetic condition,” says Ramanna, owner of a roadside tea stall.

Street lighting too a is matter of grave concern for the locals. “They are non-functional and need to be repaired immediately. The road has become unsafe, especially for women and children. At night pedestrians have to depend on headlights,” complains Muniappa, a resident of Vrushabhavati Nagar.

Footpaths are in a state of disrepair. Pits surrounded by stone slabs and mud are what make up the footpaths. “It’s terrible when it rains. Dirt, garbage and filthy water accumulates in the open spaces on the footpath. The drainage system is also terrible. Sometimes, water from the sewers overflow onto the road. Nobody bothers to repair it. Officials never inspect this road,” says Sharadamma, caretaker of a flower nursery near the main road.

The worst maintained section is a small bridge leading to the ring road. It has large craters and the uneven stone surface is a nightmare of for vehicles. With heavy vehicles like buses and trucks ferrying sand, stones and other raw materials for industries located in the adjoining areas, using this bridge, the situation only gets worse. BMP engineering chief Rame Gowda says, “Under the World Bank scheme, Rs 39 crore has been sanctioned for roads. Under the first package, seven roads in Bangalore will be repaired and Rs 13 crore will be utilised for the development of Magadi Road. An estimated 8.5-km stretch from the Leprosorium Hospital near BinnyMill to Sunkadakatte will be repaired under this scheme”.

Husband handles the affairs here!

Area corporator Sharadamma’s comment could not be got because her husband denied access to her. Instead he spoke on her behalf.

According to him, there were no problems in the area at all. An amount of Rs 1.1 crore has been sanctioned as ward grant and Rs 1.15 crore as package grant.

Both these grants are being utilised for the development work, including laying roads, fixing sanitation and street lights. Eighty per cent of the work has already been completed, he said.