Cantt underpass in two months?

Cantt underpass in two months?
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The underpass at Cantonment station bridge has been in the making for such a long time that people are beginning to wonder if, with the passage of time, the project has been abandoned. But the BBMP assures that our wait will end in 2-3 months.
The South Western Railways was given charge of this project, worth Rs 9.5 crore. Work on this took close to a year-and-ahalf and the project was finished eight months ago. But it hasn’t been open to the public.
According to BBMP sources, the railways, that normally completes access roads leading to underpasses, opted out in this case even though it was included in the contract clause, claiming that there was no proper infrastructure to shift the utility lines.
Following this unexpected refusal, BBMP has called for tenders to complete access roads and shift utility lines, including a high-tensile wire, alongside BWSSB lines.
Wider underpasses needed
The underpass at the Anandnagar Junction in Hebbal, one of the earliest in this area, is meant for light vehicular traffic. It was completed three months ago at a cost of Rs 1.8 crore and open to traffic. As per technical specifications, the underpass was to have a width of 4.5 m but it’s just 3 m. “It requires at least two reversing attempts to get a few cars to enter it,’’ minister Katta Subramanya Naidu told reporters during an inspection on Thursday. His car was stuck there recently.
“If this is the state of our underpasses, there is no point in going for any more,’’ he said. The BBMP has been asked to increase the width; alongside, the roads by the side will also be widened by another 5 m.
According to BBMP commissioner S Subramanya, the underpass was a trial attempt. However, the technology used facilitates such dimensional alterations based on public experience, he said, adding that the required alteration would be done in the next few days.
Further, a few other connecting roads would also be widened. “The road connecting to Sanjaynagar will be made 100 feet wide, the one to Anandnagar will be made 80 feet wide while the Vishwanath Nagenahalli Road will be made 60 feet wide,’’ he said.
Regular inspections
“Henceforth, we’ll have at least one such spot inspection every week covering at least two constituencies every month,’’ ministers Katta Subbramanya Naidu and R Ashok told reporters on Thursday. The attempt is to track progress of various development projects and also redress any flaws in the initial stages.