BBMP may terminate services of Mysore Road contractor

Inordinate delay in completing the widening work irks civic body

Fed up with the tardy progress in the widening of Mysore Road which is causing inconvenience to road users, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is planning to rescind the agreement with the contractor executing the work.

Sources in the civic body told The Hindu that though initially there was delay on the part of the BBMP/government agencies in shifting the utility lines, the contractor failed to speed up work even after they were shifted. The contractor has been issued a final notice to speed up the work, failing which the contract would be terminated, sources said.

The road stretch from the Muslim Burial Ground to Rajarajeshwarinagar arch continues to be covered in clouds of dust. Nagaraj, a BMTC bus driver told

The Hindu he wears a mask while driving on the road.

C. Shivashankar, a sales executive with a private firm, wondered whether the BBMP treated Mysore Road users as third-grade citizens. “This is the worst road ever in Bangalore. I cannot understand the apathy of government agencies towards the upkeep of the road and the plight of road users,” he said.

Pedestrian crossings

Even as the widening work is progressing at a snail’s pace, the BBMP has planned to provide at least three skywalks and surface pedestrian crossings each between the Muslim Burial Ground and Kimco junction.

Skywalks are planned near Gopalan Mall, Mysore Road Satellite Bus Terminal and Bapujinagar, while surface crossings are planned near Padarayanapura Cross, Toll Gate and Guddadahalli.

The widening work was unlikely to be completed by next month as planned. It would take a couple of months more, sources said.