Two days after as many as 2,000 people from Mahadevapura, Bellandur, Varthur, Hoodi, Kadugodi and Whitefield staged a protest for better amenities and accountability from their elected representatives, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar, accompanied by senior civic officials, inspected many areas in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.
For nearly two hours on Sunday, the team of civic officials got a first-hand look at the crumbling infrastructure, as they walked along stretches that were either slushy, lacked street lights or footpaths.
Mr. Kumar said that a timeline had been fixed to complete construction of an underpass at Kundalahalli junction. He said that ₹25 crore had been released for land acquisition and another ₹42 crore had been set aside for further land acquisition for the project, which will be completed by mid-November.
Following the inspection, they reviewed the projects in Mahadevapura zone. Officials decided to issue work orders within 10 days for the development of 14 roads adjoining Outer Ring Road at a cost of ₹80 crore while 20 roads are slated for development at a cost of ₹250 crore and nine other works costing ₹34 crore will be finalised by the end of November.
BBMP's Special Commissioner D. Randeep, who is in charge of Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura zones, said the funds announced by the commissioner would come from the ₹8,050 crore Nava Bengaluru scheme. “The major issue in the zone is the condition of roads. We are working towards improving the condition of roads and other civic infrastructure,” he said.
Whitefield Rising, a group of residents' welfare associations, in a statement, said that citizens were glad that the civic chief visited the area and hailed his decision to expedite development works.
Nitya Ramakrishnan, a member of Whitefield Rising, pointed out that it should not take a Commissioner to visit the area for any development to happen on the ground. Pointing to a ‘deep systemic and underlying problems’, she said that the civic infrastructure in many areas in Mahadevapura constituency was so bad that they could be called ‘urban slums’.
Jagadish Reddy from Varthur Rising said, “The protest seems to have moved mountains. Officials are visiting the area and ward committee meetings saw attendance from officials of all departments. The protest was not to target any one person; it was targeting the system. Citizens only sought delivery on assurances and promises made to them.”
RWAs also sought to know why there was no system in place to steadily address key areas and remove roadblocks to projects.
In its statement, Whitefield Rising said: “We shouldn't have to wait for a good and proactive BBMP Commissioner since we have seen that they come and go. The process has to be such that crucial projects get high quality contractors who can complete works and not take six years to still be at the stage it is in.”
BDA Commissioner visits Varthur lake
While the BBMP Commissioner was inspecting Vibgyor Road, Thubarahalli Road and Kundalahalli underpass, Bangalore Development Authority Commissioner G.C. Prakash visited Varthur lake.
Jagadish Reddy from Varthur Rising lamented the slow pace of implementation of the various recommendations of an expert committee. The temporary diversion channel at Bellandur lake is almost complete and similar work has to be taken up at Varthur lake.
“Though the proposal was approved by the Urban Development Department, it has been pending with the Finance Department for nearly a month,” he claimed and pointed out that as per recommendations, work was to be taken up simultaneously at Bellandur and Varthur lakes. “Since the lakes are inter-connected, unless work is taken up simultaneously, the problem will not be solved,” he said.
Despite several attempts, Mr. Prakash was not available for comment.
