Delay in construction of bus bays causing traffic hold-ups

Delay in construction of bus bays causing traffic hold-ups

The Hindu

People passing through Balekundri Circle are forced to put up with pungent smell

# The manhole was damaged about 10 days ago
# Contractor appointed by Karnataka Land Army blamed for it
# BMP removed silt from storm water drain a few days ago
# Many commuters wait on footpaths and on the road to board buses near the circle


BANGALORE: The delay in the construction of the proposed bus bays in front of the Parsi Temple is causing severe traffic snarls at the Balekundri Circle and surrounding areas.

People passing through the circle are forced to put up with pungent smell because of a damaged sewage manhole 10 days ago.

They have blamed the contractor appointed by the Karnataka Land Army for this.

The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) assigned the work of construction of bus bays to the Land Army and the work was supposed to be completed by June 1.

It is for over 10 days now that sewage is overflowing from the manhole towards an adjacent storm water drain.

The BMP, a few days ago, removed silt from the storm water drain running along Cunningham Road (towards Cubbon Road) and now the drain is filled with sewage and accompanying silt. Sewage is also flowing into storm water drains towards Minsk Square.

When contacted, a senior engineer of BMP in-charge of the project said he had not been "briefed about the inconvenience" being caused to the people. He said he would ask the Land Army to immediately rectify the damage.

Asked about the reason for the delay in completing the project, the engineer did not give any reason nor did he specify any deadline.

However, the area engineer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board said the board was constructing a new manhole in the locality to shift the sewer line. He said the contractor while digging the land, had run an earthmover over the manhole and damaged it. He said the workers even dumped mud and silt into the new manhole being constructed.

The project is being taken up by the BMP in consultation with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to construct two bus bays and four shelters at a cost of Rs. 40 lakh.

Many commuters wait on footpaths and on the road to board buses near the circle due to the absence of bus bays and shelters. This has also contributed to traffic pile-up at the circle. BMTC buses picking passengers on Queen's Road hinder smooth flow of traffic.