Public protest triggers a ‘re-do’ of ROB

Public protest triggers a ‘re-do’ of ROB
deccan herald

It took five years and Rs 6 crore to erase the common sight of vehicles piling up on either sides of the Banaswadi level crossing. But the Banaswadi railway overbridge (ROB), which now provides signal-free passage to vehicles plying between Marutiseva Nagar and Ring Road, seems to have created a different set of woes for the motorists and residents.

It took five years and Rs 6 crore to erase the common sight of vehicles piling up on either sides of the Banaswadi level crossing. But the Banaswadi railway overbridge (ROB), which now provides signal-free passage to vehicles plying between Marutiseva Nagar and Ring Road, seems to have created a different set of woes for the motorists and residents.

The road users are now up in arms against the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) and the South Western Railways (SWR), the cost-sharing partners in the project. Residents and traders of Marutiseva Nagar, RS Palya, Jaibharathnagar, and road users from Kammanahalli and Byappanahalli, have launched an agitation under the banner of ‘Melsethuve Horata Samithi’.

“The project has many flaws. The authorities did not procure adequate land and so compromised on the width of the two ramps connected to the two-lane Bowstring arch bridge. Even the service lanes below are narrow. The overbridge has no footpath,” said Jaiprakash, a member of the Samithi.


As a result, the residents have to make-do with the narrow service roads towards IOC and Ramaswamy Palya. “The Mukunda theatre road and the lane leading to Kammanahalli are too narrow for vehicles to pass through. We need to create a passage for pedestrians, and movement of light vehicles,” argue residents.

What next?

The BMP is now faced with a double challenge — of providing access to Byappanahalli and Kammanahalli road, and providing an alternative for the pedestrians and light vehicles to criss-cross without interfering with the level crossing. Moreover, there is also a proposal to widen the ramps. “The overbridge ramps (slopes) extend beyond the Kammanahalli road junction and same is the case with the Byappanahalli road. An agreement with the SWR insists that we close down the level crossing for traffic once an ROB or underpass is built. We are building two loops to give access to Kammanahalli and Byappanahalli directly from the two-laned overbridge. However, we are proposing a box-type underpass to provide passage to the pedestrians and light vehicles,” explains a senior BMP official.

Compounding costs

However, the compromise formula will cost the BMP a minimum of Rs 4 crore. The loops will cost an additional Rs 2.5 crore, while the criss-cross path for pedestrians is estimated to cost about Rs 70 lakh. In addition, the widening of the ramps involves acquisition of defence land. “Though we will be procuring a small expanse of land, we will have to relocate (rebuild) the defence quarters at our cost,”