Hundreds of residents of Rajajinagar and Malleswaram on Tuesday gave vent to their anger against Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) for devastating Maha Kavi Kuvempu (MKK) Road, the lifeline of the localities.
Assembled under the banner of Save Bangalore Committee (SBC), the residents, who claimed that they had suppressed their anger for over two years, shouted slogans against BMRCL as well as the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for their misery.
Addressing the gathering at Harishchandra Ghat in Bangalore, freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy gave an ultimatum to the authorities concerned to set right the road within one week or face road blocks.
Lashing out at the apathetic attitude of the palike and BMRCL, Mr. Doreswamy said, “The authorities have become insensitive to the sufferings of commuters and residents of Kuvempu Road. Accidents, traffic jams, injuries to commuters and damage to vehicles have become the order of the day… BBMP and BMRCL would be solely responsible for any law and order problem that would follow.”
One of the SBC office-bearers H.G. Jayalakshmi said that BMRCL’s failure to asphalt MKK Road by September 25, 2011 and Palike’s failure to initiate any action against the Corporation indicated the callous attitude of both the civic bodies. She said:
“It is a cruel joke when BMRCL officials claim that the high power committee was yet to meet to decide on asphalting MKK Road. They have turned a blind eye towards the sufferings of common man in the locality,” she said. Not only had BMRCL devastated the road, the corporation had also indulged in other kinds of illegal acts, Dr. Jayalakshmi alleged. Once the contractor was caught stealing power from a nearby transformer.
On another occasion, several borewells were sunk along the stretch, thereby drying bore wells being used by the residents of the locality, she added.
Committee’s Rajajinagar unit head B.S. Prathibha Kumari said, “Lurking potholes have taken a toll on hundreds of commuters in the last two years. One month ago, we had collected thousands of signatures of residents, shopkeepers and commuters and submitted a memorandum to the authorities, which fell on deaf ears. Hence we were forced to stage this huge protest.”
Theatre personality H.G. Somashekhara Rao, educationist S. Balachandra Rao, Committee co-convener Ganamurthy and others were present.
