To get a real off-roading experience, motorists can just drive down Ramachandrapura Main Road in Vidyaranyapura. Motoring on the undulating surface covered with just sand and gravel gives citizens an opportunity to try their hand at the extreme sport.
The road connects BEL Market to Vidyaranyapura and witnesses heavy traffic. The stretch is begging for repair. It was dug up by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) authorities to lay a new water pipeline more than a year ago as part of the Cauvery 4th Stage 2nd Phase project.
With no respite in sight, the residents have complained about the BWSSB not restoring the road to the local councillor and MLA. A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the road had been in a pathetic state for the past two years. “A perfectly good road was dug up to lay the sewage and drinking water pipelines. However, even after the pipelines were laid, the road has not been restored. This is causing a lot of inconvenience to not just the residents, but also motorists,” he said.
Naseer Pasha, a salesperson who uses the road frequently, said that the poor condition of the road often leads to traffic jams. The uneven surface has led to quite a few accidents on this stretch, he claimed.
Royal Bakery owner Mohammed Hussain blamed the road for dip in his profits. As the road has not been asphalted, the movement of vehicles raises a lot of dust. The bakery is situated on the busy Bloom Field Garden junction. “I used to make a minimum of Rs. 6,000 a day just a year ago. Now, I manage to make just about half of that. With a small portion of the road being motorable, there is no way the motorists can stop in front of my bakery to make purchases,” Mr. Hussain complained.
K. Ravi, construction supervisor, minced no words while blaming the BWSSB officials. He alleged that the road had been reduced to shambles because of their inferior quality of work. Pharmacy owner M. Krishnappa concurred. He pointed out that had the BWSSB engineers compacted the road surface properly, the road surface would have at least been levelled.
The BWSSB officials were not available for comment. It may be recalled that the BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan had recently written to BWSSB chairperson Gaurav Gupta stating that the utility had to take up road restoration after completing pipeline laying or repairing work.
Local councillor Pillappa conceded that he had received a lot of complaints about the condition of the road.
The pipeline that was laid was part of the Cauvery 4th Stage 2nd Phase project, for which the testing is still on. “Every time, the water is let into the pipes, the road surface deteriorates. The heavy spells of rain that lashed the city last month affected the road further.”
He blamed the BWSSB for the shoddy work and claimed that he had apprised the former BWSSB Minister S. Suresh Kumar about the issue.
He said that the estimate of Rs. 2 crore for repairing the two-km stretch had been prepared by the BBMP’s major roads department. “We can take up the work only after the BWSSB fixes the problems in the new pipeline,” he added.
