Dhanalakshmi Bai steps out of the apartment building where she works as domestic help with a little trepidation. To get back to her house, she has to walk on the narrow Nandidurg Road — the footpath doesn’t exist in some stretches — competing for space with vehicles.
“The road has been in a deplorable state for several months now. It was dug up for cable work. The movement of heavy vehicles has worsened its condition further,” she told The Hindu .
Kamran Khan, a software engineer and local resident, concurred. Pointing to the huge craters on one side of the road and the uneven surface covered with rubble on the other, he said it was difficult to ride or drive on the road. Manholes too are higher than the road level, obstructing traffic, he added. “The road has been in this condition for at least six months.”
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Ripe for accidents
Miller’s Road, which is almost perpendicular to Nandidurg Road, is in as dismal a state.
The footpath along the entire stretch, right from opposite the Archbishop’s House to the Cantonment railway station back gate, has been dug up. The road is riddled with potholes and only a small portion is motorable.
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According to autorickshaw driver Abdul Shukur, the poor condition of the two roads has even caused a few accidents. “When it rains, the potholes get filled with water. This is particularly dangerous for two-wheeler riders.”
Nasir Mallik, a businessman, blamed the government. “We see the local MLA just before the elections. [The representatives] are nowhere to be found after that. The government should wake up and improve the city’s infrastructure,” he said.
Local councillor and Leader of the Opposition in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council M.K. Gunashekar conceded that both roads were in a poor state.
He said around three months ago, a Rs. 3-crore road improvement project was taken up on both these roads. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board would be replacing the water pipeline on Miller’s Road. “First, the drains are being cleared of silt and strengthened. After this, the footpaths will be repaired and levelled. The road asphalting can be taken up only after this is completed,” he said.
A year’s wait
With the project expected to be completed only in a year’s time, Mr. Gunashekar claimed he had urged the contractor to put at least one layer of asphalt on the road after filling the potholes. “He has not been able to do it because of the rain.”
It would appear that motorists will have to grind their teeth and put up with the inconvenience for a while longer.