Kilari Road in Balapete has turned hazardous for many reasons. Commuters and pedestrians have no option but to take this route as this is the only way to reach BVK Iyengar Road. According to Chickpete Police, it is a tough task manning the area as thousands of vehicles use this road everyday. However, they claim that they have not received any complaints of accidents or injuries till now.
The problems don't end here. The road is not only uneven and broken but also has large open manholes, which pose a serious threat to the commuters and residents of this area.
Travelling on these rough and dangerous patches is a struggle for two wheelers and four wheelers. But the pedestrian suffers the most. Slipping and sustaining injuries is a daily affair.
Gajendra, who owns a flour mill on this road for the past 50 years, is fed up and says that the BBMP pays no heed to maintain it. “Six months ago, this road was taken over by the BBMP to lay the sanitary pipes after which the road was neither repaired nor concreted. The manhole has been lying open for the past four weeks and the situation is worsening day by day. We all have to stay alert while walking or riding on this road,” he adds.
Prathap Thakur, a resident of Balepet is tired of the mess and says no action has been taken inspite of repeated complaints. “The open manhole has resulted in a lot of mishaps but the BWSSB seems to be totally indifferent. We don’t see any effort from the authorities to clean up the clogged manhole. They are more or less mute spectators. We really don’t know why it is taking such a long time to address the problem. This is supposed to be a main road but no planning has gone into easing out the issue,” he says.
The situation has further worsened during the rainy season with the drains overflowing and spewing muck on the road. “The only thing that the authorities have done is to place a barricade to alert people of the presence of the open manhole. Residents have even tied a red cloth to alert passersby. The entire road is in a mess. Even though this is one of the busiest areas of Bangalore, the authorities are making no efforts to maintain this it,” says Poornima, another resident of the area.
When City Express explained the pathetic condition of Kilari Road to the Corporator, T Gopal Krishna, he said, “We are aware of the situation but we have delayed the works because we had to first lay the water pipes. The tender will be passed by the end of the month. We need to spend at least `20-30 lakh to make a concrete road here. If we need to dig up to lay the water pipes, then it will be double the cost. So, we are planning to wait till the completion of the pending jobs before laying the road.”
However, the corporator promised to look into the open manhole issue immediately and get the pit covered to avoid any further mishaps.