After missing many deadlines, the six-lane 42-km Outer Ring Road (ORR), with service road, was completed and formally inaugurated here recently by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The thoroughfare has eased traffic congestion inside the city with inbound and outbound trucks and other heavy transport plying on the road but darkness still covers most stretches of the road after nightfall with streetlights not functioning.
The entire stretch of the road had been built at over Rs. 332 crore under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
When the road had been officially commissioned for public use, the question about the non-functioning streetlights still remains. This seems to be bothering commuters, who are being severely inconvenienced with lack of light after dusk that has endangered the safety of commuters, particularly women.
The ORR links major highways connecting important cities and is a key transit route not just for the locals but also for inter-city commuters. The road had been built to meet projected vehicular movement till 2030.
Though the Commissioner of MUDA Mahesh was not available for comment, the authorities had told this correspondent sometime ago the streetlights were yet to be electrified since civil works had not been completed yet. The streetlight poles apparently require fresh wiring.
Now that the road and the service road are done, there seems to be no reason for the MUDA not to electrify the streetlights.
Though there are streetlights on the entire stretch of ORR, they are functional only on some stretches like Bannur Road and Columbia Asia Hospital Junction on the Bengaluru-Mysuru National Highway.
Somanna, a resident of J.P. Nagar, who is the frequent user of the ORR, said vehicles ply at top speed on the motorway and the absence of ample illumination on the road has become unsafe to commute in the night.
Authorities had said that the lights were not electrified as the civil works had not finished
