Bridge work robs Cox Town of its safety

Bridge work robs Cox Town of its safety
BY CHANDRASHEKAR G
BENGALURU







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I Crime thrives due to storage of construction materials I ‘ There has been no co-ordination between BBMP and ‘ ‘ railways in building the bridge C.P. Vaidyanathan Traffic diversions have made life diffi- cult for people in Cox Town and Bana- sawadi. The once peace- ful area has turned noisy and congested. ROB is necessary to avoid long waits when trains pass. BBMP and Railways must complete it soon Krishna Nayak, lecturer For the last two-and-a-half years the kachcha road passing through the railway track has become a major connecting pas- sage, with many people using it in the absence of a Road Over Bridge. The track is not manned, which makes it risky for people crossing it Mike Gangavathi, private firm employee Any project should be completed within the stipulated time. In a city like Bengaluru, an infrastructure project cannot be delayed for years togeth- er. The state’s Abide com- mittee must look into delayed projects and expedite them Y.V. Suresh, techie
Robberies, chain snatching and extortion have become common along the railway track in Cox Town where work on the Road Over Bridge (ROB) is underway.

Crime thrives in the vicinity of the stored construction material including steel on the railway track, which have been here for a long time as work on the bridge hobbles along.

“The ROB being built to connect Cox Town and Banasawadi Main Road should have been completed about a year ago, but there hasn’t been any progress in its construction,” says Resident Welfare Association Bengaluru East (REWABE) secretary C.P. Vaidyanathan.

As the bridge remains incomplete traffic jams have become common here, with people finding it difficult to reach their offices and take their children to school in time. Repeated complaints to BBMP have not helped a bit, says Mr Vaidyanathan.

He claims there has been no co-ordination between the BBMP and railways in building the bridge and public interest has been ignored.

“We have been hearing lame excuses for the inordinate delay in completing the work,” he adds.

A site engineer blames the delay on the revision in cost for the project which had become essential due to the steep increase in the price of cement and steel. This held up the project for a few months, he says.

He claims the design of the bridge was changed due to political interference and this added to the delay as fresh approval was required for the new plan from the railways and the BBMP. The two lane ROB was converted into a four lane in the new design, according to him.

“Also land acquisition from the ITC was a major constraint. It took at least four months to convince the ITC to part with its land. Acquiring BBMP’s leased property, the Gymkhana, too consumed time,” he says.