Metro corporation begins asphalting damaged roads

Metro corporation begins asphalting damaged roads

Anil Kumar Sastry
Road users heave a sigh of relief after months of grinning and bearing it
— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

NICE DRIVE: The newly asphalted stretch of Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road in Bangalore.
BANGALORE: After causing much hardship to Bangaloreans with ruined roads, mounds of debris and dirt due to the ongoing civil works of Namma Metro, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has begun asphalting the roads outside the civil works area.

“The asphalting has brought a respite to our months-long ordeal,” said Kalyaraman, who regularly uses the Mahakavi Kuvempu Road in Rajajinagar.

There is no dust and dirt either, said a visibly relieved Rajaram, a resident of the area.

A few months ago, both sides of Mahakavi Kuvempu Road between Harishchandra Ghat and Devaiah Park had been dug up by contractors engaged in demolishing buildings and shifting utility lines for Bangalore’s biggest infrastructure project. Trenches left unattended were a potential death trap while the road was riddled with potholes in Mariyappanapalya, with clouds of dust billowing whenever a heavy vehicle went by.

Now the stretch of this road between Navarang Circle and Devaiah Park has been asphalted, leaving aside the barricaded civil work area.

Though provision has been made for alternative roads surrounding the proposed Malleswaram Metro Station at Devaiah Park, they are yet to be asphalted.

On the southern side, the motorable area of Krishnarajendra Road from Prof. P. Shivashankar Circle to National College Circle and the stretch of Vani Vilas Road between National College Circle and Lalbagh West Gate has also been asphalted, bringing relief to road users as well as residents of the locality.

CMH Road too
Bangalore Metro has also begun asphalting the Chinmaya Mission Road in Indiranagar.

The stretch between Shanthi Sagar and the cemetery near 17th Cross has seen asphalted, though the stretch from Old Madras Road till Shanthi Sagar is yet to get asphalted. Bangalore Metro’s spokesperson said it would be done in a couple of months after the completion of the viaduct work.

He added that the stretch of Swami Vivekananda Road between the Adarsha cinema and Trinity Circle cannot be asphalted now because of frequent rupturing of water and sewage lines.

Once the problems are permanently solved, the road will be asphalted. Meanwhile, the corporation is undertaking temporary works to reduce the road users’ woes, he said.