JUST CAN’T STOP DIGGING!

JUST CAN’T STOP DIGGING!
Barely after beginning concretisation, a portion of Vittal Mallya road in UB City is being dug up to lay power cables and construct drains
SUCHITH KIDIYOOR AND B K LAKSHMIKANTA


It seems digging up freshly laid roads has become a part of Bangalore’s culture. Sample this: With potholes robbing the sheen of upscale UB City, it was decided to concretise the Vittal Mallya Road. But, less than a month after the work started, digging has already started on the newly concretised stretch.
Recently, the residents of Vittal Mallya Road, Lavelle Road and Walton Road were surprised to find that a portion of the concrete road near Sunny’s restaurant was blocked to facilitate laying of some underground pipes. As a result, commuters coming from St Mark’s Road towards Kasturba Road junction (near Cafe Coffee Day Square) faced a bottleneck near the entrance to UB City Shopping Mall.
“The problem was sorted out only a few days ago, but now they have dug up the entrance,” a resident of the area told Bangalore Mirror, adding that when he tried to enquire why the road was dug up, the answer he got was: “Because some power supply lines have to be laid and the drain has to be constructed.”
“In that case, why the road was concretised before putting the civic utilities in
place?” ask the residents.
Monisha, a student of St Josephs College of Arts and Science and resident of the area, said, “Concretising the dug up portion of the road has to be completed before the rainy season starts. Otherwise, it will cause inconvenience to both vehicle users as well as the pedestrians.”
The construction company which concretised the road denied having had any role in digging up the road. A site engineer said, “After the construction of the road, we have not dug it up for laying cables or for any other reason. We have built a drain to facilitate smooth flow of rain water and now it’s only the desilting work that is in progress. We have also made provision for ducts on both sides of the stretch to carry power and telecom cables.”
Promoters of the project maintained that concretisation of the road will be extended up to the end of Vittal Mallya Road towards St Marks Road.