City road or lunar surface?

City road or lunar surface?

Pothole-ridden and inundated by gutter water whenever it rains, the road connecting two city localities is a portrait of official neglect. Residents wonder when it will see better days

By Deepthi M Ranga
Posted On Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Is it a road or a dirt track? That is what the residents of the area must be asking themselves as the main road connecting Malleshpalya and Kaggadasapura has been in its present pathetic condition for the last one and a half years.

A stretch of 1.25 km, it looks like a patchwork of potholes rather than a road. The sight looks even more forbidding during the rainy season when the potholes get filled with rain water. The area surrounding it is thickly populated and the overflow and stench from the open drains alongside pose a safety and health hazard to the residents.

One reason held out for the delay in repairs to the road is that a part of the road comes in Varthur while the other falls in Sir C V Raman Nagar constituency. While the PWD says work on the road was postponed due to a lack of funds, BBMP had estimated the work to cost Rs 50 lakh and handed over its execution to the Land Army.

“Crushed stones were laid on the road, giving us some hope that work would start, but that became history once the rains started,” said Dr Aruna Jagadeesh, who owns a clinic on the road. “One person died in an accident here recently,” she added.

A shop owner, Akkamma (62), said the road was so bad that even pedestrians could not negotiate it. Besides, the open drains overflow on to the road, leaving a terrible stench.

“My shop lacks customers as the drain water flows in front of it,” she said, adding, “The overflowing drains push the crushed stones which block the drainage outlets,” she added.

The drains, which were constructed a while back, remain uncovered. “The open drains have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and an accident spot at night,” said the local residents’ welfare association secretary, Raja Reddy.

“MLA Nandeesh Reddy (K R Puram) and MLA S Raghu (C V Raman Nagar) have assured us the road will be relaid after the monsoon,” he added.

BBMP sources said the road would be relaid within the next ten days, but the residents remain sceptical. “How will the authorities achieve in ten days that which has been pending for over a year and a half?” they remarked.