A MAGIC BBMP NEVER IMAGINED!

A MAGIC BBMP NEVER IMAGINED!
Magic box underpass at Sanjay Nagar ‘shrinks’
ATUL CHATURVEDI & SAMEER RANJAN BAKSHI


The magic definitely has gone, and rather strangely, is shrinking! That’s what has become of the much-touted magic box underpasses, built by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP), to make Bellary Road signal free.
The boxes made using precast reinforced cement concrete (RCC) have shrunk by half-an-inch, resulting in cracks developing along the structure at Sanjay Nagar underpass, en route to the Bengaluru International Airport.
Motorists using the underpass do so now with a prayer on their lips as authorities did a ‘cover-up’ repair job on Monday following a warning letter from the traffic police.
RT Nagar Traffic police inspector H S Murali was the first to notice the ‘shrinking’ and, in his letter, had warned BBMP that the box could collapse and that they would be held responsible in case of an accident.
The BBMP reacted to the letter after seven days, and on Aug 10 sent officials to inspect the damage. Though the BBMP took up repairs on Tuesday, it is not up to the mark, according to a traffic constable, who was present at the spot.
“The BBMP has used concrete to level the road. But cracks can be easily seen. In spite of our requests to cement the cracks, nothing has been done so far. I just hope that a Delhi-type accident does not happen here,” he said. But a senior BBMP official had a different take. “The underpass is only five months old. It requires a season to set properly. We have now levelled the underpass and there’s no need to panic. We will also fill the cracks with water-proof plastering,” he said.
The magic boxes have been in the thick of controversy ever since they made their debut at the Cauvery underpass. Till date, the BBMP has constructed eight underpasses using the magic box technology. It uses 4.5 meter pre-cast RCC structures that aid swift construction and brings down cost.
THE MAGIC BOXES
Windsor Manor Junction BDA Junction Cauvery Junction Sanjay Nagar Junction CBI Junction RT Nagar Maharani College Junction KR Circle Junction