After allowing the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to cordon off a public road near its club house for nearly eight years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has now decided to remove the barrier gate. For years, the KSCA has been barring motorists from using the road or parking vehicles there. Only those visiting the club house and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) staff working in the office opposite the stadium were allowed to use the road.
In December, acting upon a complaint, Civic Officials directed the Association to furnish documents to establish the fact that they had sought permission to put up ‘check post’. The notice served by the BBMP Shantinagar sub-division also stated that if KSCA fails to provide the required documents, necessary action will be taken .“The KSCA has been claiming that it had received permission from the BBMP to barricade the road. At present, they are using the road as a gated community. If they do not comply and remove the barricade, the BBMP will do so within a day or two,” said a BBMP official.
There was a time when the stretch served to connect M.G. Road and Cubbon Road, but it was closed when BMRCL started tunelling work for the underground stretch. At present vehicles cannot go beyond BMRCL office. Now that the barricades will be removed, motorists are hoping that the road will be rebuilt. Abhishek, a motorist who used to use the road, said, “Earlier, motorists used this stretch to reach Cubbon Road to avoid two signals. After the BMRCL started building the underground metro work, the road was closed. If the BBMP rebuilds the entire stretch, it will help motorists.”
When asked if the civic body has a proposal to rebuild the road, the official said, “Half of the stretch between M.G. Road and Cubbon Road belongs to the BBMP, and the rest is defence land. There is no proposal before the BBMP to rebuild the road.”
It is currently not a thoroughfare. They are welcome to convert it into one, but the other side of the road belongs to the army. Earlier there were some nefarious activities going on and we were asked to maintain that road along with the Gandhi Park there. We will respond to the BBMP suitably, within a day or two,” said Vinay Mruthyunjaya, spokesperson, KSCA
