BENGALURU: Residents of Kasturi Nagar and Vijinapura, heading towards Old Madras Road via Tin Factory, have been struggling to commute for the past eight months due to a closed underpass in the area. The reasons: Heavy waterlogging in the underpass and repeated futile efforts by the BBMP to permanently clear it.
The issue boils down to a design flaw in the underpass, which is constructed at a higher level, forcing water to stagnate there instead of flowing past. Sivaraman Hariharan, a resident here and an Aam Aadmi Party leader, told The New Indian Express, "The FCI godown subway is submerged in rainwater most of the time. It has a faulty design, no proper drain to flush out water to nearby Benniganahalli lake. Complaints have been repeatedly raised in the BBMP Sahaya portal."
Vinu Thomas, past president of Purva Midtown Residents' Association, told The New Indian Express that the public is either forced to go through many interior roads in their area to reach Old Madras Road or take a detour via Ring Road.
"The issue was taken up six years ago by Kasturi Nagar Residents' Association and others. BBMP decided to build a sump at the underpass but that didn’t work out. So they hit upon a proposal to build two sumps here so that water can be drained. The subway has been closed for a long time," he said.
Despite this, a few two-wheeler riders try to make their way through the underpass at great personal risk, he added. Nagabhushana, BBMP ward engineer, said work was in progress at the subway. He said it belonged to the Major Roads department in BBMP.
An engineer in this department claimed that the road would be opened to traffic in a day or two. "Due to rain, road work could not be completed as planned. It is under completion, and the underpass will be opened to the public soon," he said.