Crater on Outer Ring Road a deathtrap

Crater on Outer Ring Road a deathtrap

BWSSB recently dug up the 1-km service road near Ecospace tech park,throwing traffic into disarray

Sunitha Rao R. Bangalore



Troubles never seem to end for over 30,000 software professionals commuting to their 50-odd workplaces on the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Firstly, road dividers were removed for the construction of an overbridge. Next, the deposits of fine sand left behind by trucks heading to construction sites led to accidents involving two-wheelers.
Now, the latest threat is a pit dug up bang in the middle of the ORR's service road between Intel and Bellandur junction.
The pit has been dug up by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for relaying pipes in front of the Ecospace business park.
As such, the one-km road, which is barely 15ft wide, is muddy. Vehicles move at snail's pace on the stretch, resulting in delays for commuters. Now the pit is a virtual deathtrap, with close to 20 accidents being reported from the spot every week.
S Viswanath, general secretary of Outer Ring Road Companies' Association (ORRCA), said BDA and BWSSB authorities blame each other whenever complaints are lodged about the condition of the road.
The first consequence of the pit, is that there is a huge snarl on the road during peak hours. "How do we reach office in time with traffic snarls during peak hours?" asked Naveen Kumar M, a software professional.
"Five years back, when the Ecospace business park was set up, it had spent Rs80 lakh to construct this service road. We have asphalted it whenever required since as the BDAcompletely neglects it," said Viswanath.
"To our surprise, nobody is monitoring the work. Last month also, similar work was going on and it suddenly stopped leaving behind a pit which nobody bothered to fill up," said another senior official from Ecospace.
ORRCA had invited BDA officials to discuss the issue. Instead, BDA slapped a penalty of Rs13 lakh on BWSSB for illegally digging up the road. "We do want Bellandur residents to get water. But the BWSSB work should not have created chaos on the road. First of all, there are no road dividers and now such a big pit is causing accidents. Those who slip and fall complain only to us," said Viswanath.
"Once this work is over, BDA will asphalt the road. I have instructed the chief engineer of BWSSB to set right the place," said Nagaraj Murthy, executive engineer, BDA.
He denied any penalty paid by BWSSB to BDA. "Whenever BWSSB does something, they have to remit road cutting charges," said Murthy said.