BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s crumbling roads have sparked a fierce face-off -- not between the ruling and opposition parties, but between elected representatives and city’s contractors.
From Shivajinagar to Rajajinagar to Yeshwanthpur, MLAs are venting frustration, alleging that contractors are holding the city hostage with delays, inefficiency and unresponsiveness. Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad accused the contractor handling the Narayan Pillai Street whitetopping work of abandoning the project for nearly six months. The road is a critical link between St John’s Road, Coles Park, and Commercial Street.
“I have been gently reminding the contractor to finish the work,” Arshad said. “If I push too firmly, it should not become difficult,” he said, adding, “many contractors are the root cause” of Bengaluru’s stalled infrastructure works.
In Rajajinagar, senior BJP MLA and former minister Suresh Kumar complained about white-topping work on Dr Rajkumar Road, one of the city’s busiest stretches. “This road connects Bengaluru to Kittur Karnataka, Kalyana Karnataka and coastal Karnataka. Nearly 4,000 KSRTC buses and thousands of other vehicles use it daily.
The project was handed to Ocean Constructions, which had no background in such works. I escalated the issue to the Greater Bengaluru authorities, with a meeting scheduled with the additional commissioner. If there is still no action, I may have to sit on a dharna,” he added.
Yeshwanthpur MLA ST Somashekar is battling a similar crisis. He said, “The work on two key stretches -- Mylasandra Main Road and Kodipalya Main Road -- have been stuck for nearly two years despite a Rs 50 crore contract awarded to a contractor, Hidayatullah. In spite of repeatedly reminding him and BBMP officials, there is no progress.”
He has escalated the matter to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who has instructed authorities to push the work. But with no movement on the ground, Somashekar too is contemplating a dharna.