A Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) team went around the city inspecting the railway underbridges (RUB) and railway overbridges (ROB) under construction here on Wednesday.
In Jakkur, however, irate residents, fed up with the crumbling infrastructure and the BBMP’s repeated assurances, took Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana and Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan to task. Residents complained about the poor condition of the roads in their locality, and lamented that the locality had “deteriorated further”, as water pipeline work was progressing at a snail’s pace. The heavy rain that lashed the city on Monday and Tuesday only compounded the residents’ troubles.
Empathising with their problems, Mr. Sathyanarayana directed the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board officials to complete the work immediately. He said once completed, work on the ROB would be taken up. The required land would be acquired through TDR (Transferrable Development Rights), he said.
Earlier, the team inspected the RUB under construction at Judicial Layout, which was taken up around eight months ago. The officials assured the Mayor that the work would be completed within two months’ time. Similarly, at Yelahanka where a RUB was proposed, the BBMP team noticed that there was no gate even at the railway crossing.
At Allalasandra, they inspected an ROB under construction. Though taken up around two months ago, only 5 per cent of the work has been completed. The officials said that with the traffic police yet to give clearance for the diversion of traffic, the work had not progressed much. They have been directed to complete it in six months’ time.
Another ROB stuck in limbo is the one at Byappanahalli. To complete the work, the BBMP will require 2.5 acres of land belonging to the MEG and Centre. The BBMP has assured defence officials of renewing their Ulsoor Lake contract. Army officials have stated that they will get the required clearance from their higher authorities.
Addressing presspersons later, Mr. Sathyanarayana said there were 44 ROB/ RUB proposed in the city. Of these, 14 are under construction — seven RUBs, five ROBs and two foot-overbridges — at a cost of Rs. 137 crore. The cost is being shared equally between South Western Railway (SWR) and the BBMP. The civic body had already deposited Rs. 40 crore. He added he would apprise the Chief Minister about the ROB/ RUBs proposed in the city.
“Once we get the clearance from SWR, Hubli, we will soon take up the projects,” he added.
