Mysore Road: Highway of woes

Mysore Road: Highway of woes
CHANDRASHEKHAR G.
DC | BENGALURU


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INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN RAJARAJESHWARINAGAR ZONE REMAIN UNFINISHED re Road: Highway of woes The longstanding plan to extend the Sirsi Circle flyover to the congested Mysore Road right up to Bangalore University has not gotten off the ground yet.

Round-the-clock traffic snarls, clogged sewers and overflowing drains, and uncollected garbage — the residents of Rajarajeshwarinagar zone have got no respite from these although it is now under the BBMP. Many infrastructure projects earmarked for the zone have remained on paper
For one, the longstanding plan to extend the Sirsi Circle flyover to the heavily congested Mysore Road right up to Bangalore University has not gotten off the ground yet, leaving residents of Nayandahalli, Jnanabharati and other areas in the lurch even as traffic density on the road has grown by orders of magnitude in the last few years
Not surprisingly, whether during peak hours or nonpeak hours, you will almost always encounter a traffic jam on Mysore Road that extends right upto Kengeri. The Outer Ring Road, too, is congested as all the available lanes are taken up by the heavy vehicles. On one project, though, the BBMP has spent crores of rupees — remodeling the Vrishabhavathi, once a serene river, now a polluted, black stream. But all that money seems to have gone down the drain, too. Year after year, the areas along either side of Mysore Road get flooded during the monsoon season
In fact, it turns out that a majority of the works on drains, such as providing retaining walls, clearing debris and silt have been left half-done. Rampant encroachment and unauthorized construction over the drains add to the problem, with the result that the BBMP is unable to control flooding during rains
When such is the state of affairs in the areas that have been in the BBMP zone for a long time, can Rajarajeshwarinagar, the newest addition to it, expect to get anything better from the civic authorities. The new area is yet to get its share of proper roads, drains and public toilets, let alone a clean, rejuvenated lake. On something as basic as water, residents are still waiting for a Cauvery water connection, although they have paid for it. They are still making do with a miniwater scheme that was started by the erstwhile Rajarajeshwarinagar City Municipal Corporation (CMC). As in most other areas under the BBMP, the civic authority does a very poor job of garbage collec tion even in Rajarajeswarinagar — one can find garbage strewn across the street in one place, or dumped on the roadside and set on fire in another — either way, residents are exposed to pollution and health hazards
Repeated complaints to BBMP officials have fallen on deaf ears, allege residents of the area. ‘Implement existing plans’ IT DOES not matter whether the government merges our area with the BBMP or some other administrative body. What it must ensure is that we get better roads, drains, power and water. Right now, people are being fooled into thinking that since the Rajarajeshwarinagar zone has been merged with the BBMP, all problems have been solved automatically
First of all, let BBMP and other authorities implement what has already been planned to build motorable roads, streamline traffic and prevent flooding during rains. Supply of drinking water has been poor, people have been left dependent on tankers, and we have to shell out hefty money for it
Desilt drains and save peo ple from the trauma of flooding every year during rains. Political representatives and officials can’t get away with making false promises during elections
They must now act to keep those promises