Wide open for parking

Wide open for parking


Faiza HaneefFirst Published : 22 Oct 2009 05:03:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 22 Oct 2009 09:28:17 AM IST
BANGALORE: Some time ago, the BBMP persuaded the Bangalore Turf Club to surrender a portion of their land so that the former could start widening Race Course Road. Two years have passed since the land acquisition, but the project that aims to decongest traffic on Sheshadri Road is incomplete.
What’s more, the space that was acquired and meant to make room for traffic is being conveniently used as a parking lot by private vehicles (mainly buses and four-wheelers) and autorickshaws.
The stretch opposite the Mayura Hotel up to Sheshadri Road fire station (the end point of Anand Rao Circle flyover) is left unattended and the space is now being used by owners to park their vehicles. The space is being used specially by private buses and one can see rows of them at almost any time of the day. Other than the buses, the autos and four-wheelers are parked for a few hours every day, said a traffic cop on duty. “The road is yet to be asphalted and till then we cannot stop the vehicles from being parked here. With hotels in the vicinity, people stop here for tea and coffee,” the traffic policeman added.
Upon enquiry, we were informed by officials from the civic body that the work is pending as there has been delay in shifting of utilities.
Auto drivers who park their autos on this stretch say that the civic body is delaying the road widening work and so, the vehicles have to take alonger route to reach the Maharani College junction, which otherwise is just a distance of few minutes.
“With so much infrastructure work in progress, and the delay in them, we do not get proper place for parking. And anyway, till they complete the road widening work, traffic will not use this stretch. So we use just use this space for parking,” an auto driver said.
“The road widening work is in process and a small stretch (opposite Hotel Mayura up to the fire force station) is pending because we are waiting for BWSSB to lay the sanitary lines. The Sheshadri Road work will be completed once the KPTCL and the BWSSB complete shifting of utilities, which is actually delaying the work,” said a senior BBMP official.
There were two compound walls of the Turf Club and they demolished the outer wall for the purpose of widening. However, the work is expected to complete soon and once it is completed and the road asphalted, parking will be cleared and the road will be opened for traffic,” the official added.