BENGALURU: On Thursday night, four two-wheeler riders fell from their bikes, on a 10-foot stretch of road at Doddakannelli.
All motorists lost their balance when they were negotiating a pothole-filled stretch, according to Manoj, a resident of the area who witnessed all four accidents occurred in a span of two hours.
“I was running errands between 7.30 and 9 pm when these accidents occurred. These were minor accidents but we are scared to think of what could happen to us or kids who use this road to get to schools nearby,” said Manoj.
“Shopkeepers told me that two more similar accidents had happened on the same day,” Manoj added.
Residents have been bringing up the issue of pathetic state of this stretch which connects to Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur Road.
It was dug up three months ago for laying Cauvery water supply lines and the process of restoration is still not complete.
Overflowing sewerage on the roads adds to their woes. “Three months ago the BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) dug it up and did not even use gravel to cover it up. Two weeks ago they started digging again for laying sewerage lines.
"The restoration is being done in instalments and children in school buses are stuck in the traffic jam caused by the road, leading towards educational institutions in Sarjapur and Varthur,” said Famy, another resident.
It is dangerous to drive on and also equally dangerous for children who have to board school buses on the same road, they said.
“People are frustrated. Seeing kids stranded in buses is a common sight. Traffic and waiting to pass the potholes and the AET junction is a herculean task. Road traffic comes from several directions towards this junction, including RMZ Ecoworld, ORR and Sarjapur,” Famy added.
"Manjunath, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), BWSSB said,” Two weeks ago on request of the traffic police owing to existing traffic congestion, we began working on the sewerage lines.
"The old lines were laid by the CMC (City Municipal Corporation) and are choked up and overflowing on the road.
"On a priority basis, we took it up two weeks ago on the stretch from AET junction to Janatha colony road. It will take one week to complete.”
The underground work for the rest of the Bellandur ward will take place over a period of three years, Manjunath added.
As for civic agency BBMP which is responsible for restoration of works, Chandrashekar, AEE, BBMP said, “We are 50 percent done with restoration of the road through asphalting. However, it got delayed due to rains and an overflowing manhole near AET junction. We have informed BWSSB several times about it but they have not looked into the matter. On Saturday, we will be having an inspection of the manhole with the ward engineer to apprise him of the issue.”
Previous inspections found that high voltage BESCOM cables were running through the manhole, owing to which the issue cannot be fixed.
“Once BWSSB finishes laying the new UGD line, the sewerage overflow will stop and we will be able to continue asphalting work. Another issue is that BWSSB has not remitted the amount for asphalting after laying some of the sewerage lines. We have sent them a notice to remit or do the restoration themselves,” he added.