Vittal Mallya Road block hits commuters, business

Vittal Mallya Road block hits commuters, business

But entrepreneurs hope the new look of the stretch after repair works will bring more shoppers to outlets to push up their sales

Arun Dev. Bangalore



After years of neglect, Vittlal Mallya Road is finally witnessing some signs of improvement. Repair works have been under way on the potholed and open-drained stretch for the past one month.
But the road is blocked and commuters are angry as they are told to use Kasturba Road for the time being. They say there are bottlenecks at the junction of the Vittal Mallya Road and Lavelle Road and on the stretch from Lavelle Road to Kasturba Road.
"We have to travel all the way round UB City to get to Kasturba Road," said Vikas, one of the passengers who slammed the blockade on Vittlal Mallya Road.
"It makes no sense. Even for Metro work, roads are not completely blocked," he said.
But local residents and shopkeepers are happy about the new-look the road may soon assume in three months with cobbled pathways and benches for pedestrians. They hope it would bring more shoppers to the area.
Amid recession, some shopkeepers and restaurateurs are, however, concerned about the likely fall in Deepavali sales as shoppers are likely to avoid the blocked road.
"We are losing business every day. But we don't mind as road development will benefit us in the long run," said Sarala G, who runs a furniture mart on the road.
The road repair work is a joint venture by UB City and Prestige Group. They got the green signal for re-construction of the road from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike in July.
"The work we are undertaking is meant to be of international standards. Hence the road will serve its purpose for a long time. The work is going to take some time. We know it causes inconvenience to people. But they should understand the situation and cooperate with us," said Athul Kumar, chief operating officer of UB City.
"Customers are requested to use the Kasturba Road for the time being," he said.