Underpass throws life off track

Underpass throws life off track
CHANDRASHEKAR G.
BENGALURU







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Once a perfect road for whizzing away under a cool canopy of giant trees, the 100 feet ring road in JP Nagar or atleast a significant part of it now presents a picture of deep ditches, slush and underground water flowing out all the time.

The construction of Puttenahalli underpass which began in May this year, has become a nightmare for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the contractor assigned the project. No better off are residents of Puttenahalli, JP Nagar sixth and seventh phases, Sarakki and surrounding areas who are cursing the BBMP and the contractor for the snail’s pace at which the work is happening. Residents said they were not against the project but are worried over the complacent attitude of the officials concerned and the lack of urgency in completing the work.

The 100 feet ring road was the major connecting road between Bannerghatta and Outer Ring Road, The Rs 23 crore underpass project on the road at Puttenahalli Junction is supposed to be completed in 10 months from May this year. It was entrusted to Engineering Projects India (EPI) Limited, Delhi. It is expected to reduce traffic congestion in roads connecting JP Nagar, Sarakki and Bannerghatta Road by at least 39 per cent. Even four months after the project was launched, work has hardly progressed. The 465-metre underpass is highly unlikely to be completed in 10 months.

An EPI engineer put the blame on the BBMP for not approving the project blueprints in time and on Bescom, BWSSB and telephone companies for not shifting their pipes and lines fast enough The blueprints were approved only by August end, he said. A BBMP engineer admitted that the work was to be completed in 10 months. But with unexpected problems cropping up after excavation work began.