Around 250 residents of apartments located in and around the Outer Ring Road and Kanakapura Road formed a human chain on Saturday to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to their long-standing problems.
Organised by the Kanakapura Road Apartments Movement of Change (KARAMoC), residents were demanding solutions to the lack of proper pavements, traffic congestion and garbage, among others.
Protesters, who stood from Sarakki Signal Junction to Kanakapura Road, complained that the Outer Ring Road had been reduced to a ‘no man's land’ as no legislator or official claims responsibility for it. “They make us run from pillar to post to resolve even the smallest of problems. Even after a number of complaints to various officials, nothing has yielded fruit,” said one of the residents.
“Walking on the footpath here is equal to walking into a death trap,” said R.S. Tanksali, 88, who lives in an apartment near Sarakki Signal.
Savitha Satyanarayan, 55, another resident, was dressed as 'Yamaraja-the god of death' to signify that footpaths are turning fatal. She said footpaths were taken over by two-wheelers. “Four days ago, I was attacked by a bike rider for questioning him about riding on the footpath,” she said.
Children from nearby apartments are too scared to cross the road during the peak hours, especially in the morning, owing to the traffic congestion on Kanakapura Road, they said.
“In the morning, motorists drive at 60 to 70 kmph. It is extremely dangerous for adults to cross the road. Imagine the plight of school children who have to cross the road to board school buses,” said one of the residents, even as many two-wheelers were entering the road from the wrong side.
The residents also demanded the deployment of more marshals to arrest littering and indiscriminate dumping of garbage, and installing pedestrian signals at busy junctions.
Similar problems in Sarjapur
Residents of Ittangur in Sarjapur termed commuting on the roads in the area a ‘Herculean task’ owing to the lack of good roads and pavements.
“The roads have been partially laid and partially covered with cement ash. If that is not enough, sand trucks are constantly using the road. It is nearly impossible to ride a two-wheeler on these roads. For pedestrians, there are no footpaths,” said Naveen Kumar S., 30, an IT professional and resident of an apartment in the locality.
