BENGALURU: Frequent falls on road and constant back pain are daily issues faced by residents in Kanakagiri who step out of their homes. The 1.3 km stretch of Banjara Main Road in Kanakagiri, their only connection to Horamavu Main Road, cannot be called a road by any stretch of the imagination. Lined with potholes throughout, the recent rains and the consequent slush have compounded their commuting miseries here.
This is among the roads dug up the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board in connection with its '110 villages Cauvery water' project which aims to provide drinking water and sanitary connections to peripheral areas of the City. BWSSB needs to complete the initial works on the roads it has dug up and then hand it over to the BBMP for restoration.
Sindu John, a social worker and a resident of Banjara Layout here, lashes out at the shoddy road here. "There are over 2,000 houses here who make use of this road. It is very unsafe to step out and you can say every inch has a pothole. It is very slippery too," she told The New Indian Express.
Senior citizen Kailash Murthy spoke of a recent fall by a 70-year-old resident with fractures to his left arm. "I broke my back last year by falling on this stretch from a scooter and was out of action for 3 months. But I am forced to use a two-wheeler again as using a car would take us atleast 25 minutes to reach the main road due to the road condition. It is a big risk I am taking," he said.
BWSSB has also dug the road in front of my house and stepping out is so tough, Murthy added
Kochu Shankar, another localite, said, "We are pleading to agencies for restoration of Banjara Main Road. There is no response from BWSSB to our pleas to atleast fill the potholes. The tendering process is stuck due to bureaucracy in BBMP for many months now. Riding a bike on this road feels like taking part in a Kambala race!"
Executive Engineer, Waste Water Management, BWSSB, for 100 villages, Venugopal, said, "The water board is responsible for backfilling the roads while the BBMP needs to carry out wet mix and asphalting of it. In the last 1.5 years, we have done the backfilling four times but the roads get damaged again. We will be carrying out another round of backfilling shortly."
Assistant Engineer, BBMP, Ramesh said the government had on April 29 released Rs 115 crore for restoration of all roads that had been dug up in connection with the 110-village. "BBMP had already started work on 120 km of roads in these villages. Tenders will be called for in 15 days in connection with the Banjara Main Road. Asphalting work will begin in two months," he said.
Nodal Officer for Horamavu (Ward 25), Saroja Devi said, "We are fully aware of the issue and regularly discuss it in our committee meetings. After the BWSSB completes all its works and hands us over a `No Objection’ letter, then we will begin road levelling and tar works. It is raining now and it is not possible to tar roads during rains."