The never-ending list of problems faced by thousands of commuters using Mysore Road may become shorter by Dasara. At least this is what city Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana hopes.
On Friday, he inspected Mysore Road and directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials to ensure that it is motorable by Dasara, the 10-day festival which will begin on October 5. The officials were directed to fill all potholes on the busy road, besides asphalting the widened stretch. This, he said, would at least ease movement of vehicles.
He said many citizens will be going to witness the Dasara celebrations in Mysore. The number of vehicles using the road is likely to see an exponential increase during the period.
He lambasted the contractor for the inordinate delay in completing the road widening work. Last week, the contractor had attributed it to the delay in shifting utilities by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom). He noted that though Bescom had achieved progress in shifting their utilities, the contractor had failed to keep his word.
“I will inspect the progress of the work every week. The contractor has been instructed to employ more labourers. He has been told to complete the work by November,” he added.
He inspected the road laid by the BBMP inside the Jnana Bharathi campus and noticed garbage dumped at various points on the campus. Mr. Sathyanarayana said he would urge university officials to take up intensive cleaning drives. He was also informed about the poor maintenance of streetlights within the campus. He said if the university failed to maintain the streetlights, the BBMP would step in.
ROB, RUB
Mr. Sathyanarayana later inspected the construction of the railway under pass (RUB) at Kengeri. The RUB will connect Kengeri Old Town to Kengeri Satellite Town. It is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 6 crore, which is being shared equally by the BBMP and South Western Railways.
Officials informed the Mayor that the RUB is being constructed using pre-cast elements using box pushing method. They assured him that construction would be completed within three months’ time.
There are 14 ROB/ RUB under construction across the city. The construction of these is stuck at various stages of completion due to problems either with land acquisition or funding. Mr. Sathyanarayana said he would visit all these ROB/ RUBs on October 9 and meet with SWR officials to discuss problems. “We will sit and brainstorm on solutions for various problems and ensure that all these ROB/ RUBs are opened for public use soon,” he added.
