The work on developing six main roads and around 15 cross roads in the city as per TenderSURE standards might take more than six months. The BBMP began work in the Majestic area at a cost of ₹129 crore around six months ago.
Currently, work is in progress on Museum Cross Road, Margosa Road, and Palace Road. The six main roads in the Majestic area are Cottonpet Main Road, Kalasipalya Main Road, W.H. Hanumathappa Road, Dhanvantri Road, Subedar Chatram Road, and Gubbi Thotadappa Road, apart from around 15 cross roads.
While the work on Cottonpet Main Road is likely to be over in another four months, the work on Dhanvantri Road is in the final stages, officials said. Utilities are being shifted on most of the roads.
BBMP officials said the focus of the project is to promote walkability. They pointed out that once completed, the entire Majestic area will provide a seamless network of good, motorable roads of uniform carriageway and pedestrian-friendly footpaths.
“The area reflects the pulse of the city and witnesses huge footfall. This was one of the main reasons why these roads were taken up for development under TenderSURE,” they said.
The BBMP has developed 12 roads under TenderSURE, including St. Mark’s Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Cunningham Road, Residency Road, Richmond Road, Nrupatunga Road, Kempe Gowda Road, and Modi Hospital Road.
However, the civic body is yet to complete the work on Siddaiah Puranik Road and 11th Main Jayanagar. The main reason is huge trees. An official said the BBMP hopes to transplant the raintrees on Siddaiah Puranik Road and replace the gulmohar trees on 11th Main Jayanagar with indigenous varieties that offer better shade and have stronger roots. A proposal has been forwarded to the forest cell.
The officials said the BBMP has received award for TenderSURE roads from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the ‘Best Non-Motorised Transport’ category.
Nod for development of 16 more roads
Bengaluru Smart City Ltd., a special purpose vehicle for the implementation of Smart City project, has approved the project to develop 16 roads as per TenderSURE standards, all in the core city. The project, estimated at ₹200.81 crore, was approved at the sixth meeting of BSCL’s board of directors.
- Some of the roads that will be taken up under the project include St. John’s Road (Kensington Road to St. John’s Church Road), Cantonment Road (Millers Road to Queen’s Road), Jumma Masjid Road (Bowring Hospital Road to Russell Market); SJP Road (K.R. Market to N.R. Road Junction), Racecourse Road (Palace Road to Hare Krishna Road), Raj Bhavan Road (Millers Road intersection to Ali Asker Road intersection), and Avenue Road (Mysore Bank Circle to SJP Road)
While BBMP officials say with the development of roads under TenderSURE, the core city would be pedestrianised, critics claim otherwise. Kshitij Urs, adjunct professor of Public Policy, National Law School of India University, alleged that selection of roads is based on real estate projections.
“TenderSURE is ideologically driven. For roads to be pedestrian friendly, tree are essential. There is no scope to plant trees on TenderSURE roads,” he said and added that a temperature study showed canopied roads were cooler than TenderSURE roads.
