BENGALURU: Days after reports and videos of traffic gridlocked on Varthur-Balagere main road connecting Panathur, where schoolchildren were stuck for over two hours recently, the Palike has said it will widen the road to 18 metres from the existing 12 metres. This road stretch has gained notoriety, with agitations by parents and children demanding that traffic be eased, and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeting about it.
At present, the road is 9 to 12 metres wide, and in Varthur village area, the road shrinks to 6m. “Widening the road along this stretch is a ‘comprehensive development project’. It is worth Rs 18 crore and was initiated in 2019 end. So far, the BBMP road infrastructure department has completed 60 per cent work, and may take another six months to complete the project,” said Jayashankar Reddy, executive engineer, BBMP road infrastructure department.
The stretch from Kadubeesanahalli to Panathur is complete, and the municipal body is now facing issues with owners demanding monetary compensation instead of Transferable Development Rights (TDR), Reddy said. Some owners have agreed for TDR but with the government failing to coming up with a new policy on it, Palike officials say it will take time to issue TDR certificates. The Palike is also facing an issue from dwellers of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quarters in Varthur.
“The process of shifting the dwellers is on. Once work is completed, the traffic situation will improve,” the official said. As per the BBMP document, the 5.9-km road stretch will have two main carriageways, drains and footpaths on either side, streetlights and one railway underbridge near Panathur.
In all, 143 private properties, 11 government properties and three revenue properties are to be acquired. If monetary compensation for private property owners is settled, the starting point from Panathur RUB to East End point -- Varthur-Gunjur road -- will be through, say BBMP officials.