While hundreds of important roads across the city crying for immediate attention, the smaller but equally important connecting roads, like the ones around Manyata Tech Park, are also in dire need of restoration. Residents and commuters claim that the roads have gone from bad to worse over the past one year due to poor construction and maintenance, high traffic density, rains, and various other reasons.
Roads around Manyata Tech Park, such as Rachenahalli Road and Thanisandra Main Road, are not only used by employees but also commuters heading towards the airport and Jakkur to avoid the traffic at the Hebbal junction.
“There are two access roads to Manyata Tech Park, one private and one public. The public road, which connects the back gate of Manyata, from Rachenahalli side, is pathetic. Apart from bad roads, there are no footpaths and streetlights,” said a resident of Mesthri Palya, behind Manyata Tech Park.
Kamala Subramanya, a resident of Hegde Nagar, said that it is extremely dangerous to walk or ride in the area at night. “The whole neighbourhood needs a comprehensive development plan not just a cosmetic makeover of laying roads,” she said.
Residents and commuters demand new roads
Citizens and commuters want new roads to be laid as soon as possible to mitigate the problem. “Roads here have been getting worse day by day. This is mainly due to lack of accountability by various agencies. The BWSSB has dug up roads and the BBMP has not maintained roads,” said Abbas Mohammed, a resident of Thanisandra Main Road.
Commuters say that the road is very dusty and dangerous to drive on, let alone walk.
Madappa H., a resident of Sarai Palya, said that during peak hours one can hardly see the road because of the volume of dust. “This is also affecting our health, and children are the most vulnerable. It is extremely dusty when they travel to school and come back,” he said.
Problems on ORR
Thought the ORR stretch from Hebbal junction to Tin Factory is satisfactory when compared to inner roads, patches of incomplete white-topping work remains an inconvenience to motorists.
“Most of the high traffic density bottlenecks, such as Hebbal junction, K.R. Puram and Silk Board, are on this stretch,” said Derek Raj, an employee who works at Manyata Tech Park.
White-topping work near Ramamurthynagar underpass on the lane towards Tin Factory adds to the bottleneck. A similar problem plays out at Kalyannagar where uneven levels created by ongoing work are a safety hazard for two-wheelers.
23-year-old dies in Chikkamagaluru
Minister for Tourism and Chikkamagaluru MLA C.T. Ravi is facing criticism for bad roads in the city following the death of an engineering student on Sunday due to a pothole on K.M. Road. Congress leaders staged a protest on Monday demanding repair of the road. A video blaming the minister's negligence for the accident has gone viral.
The victim, K. Sindhuja, 23, is the daughter of Kumarappa. She was on the way to the city police station for passport verification along with her father on a two-wheeler. When her father applied the brakes suddenly to avoid a pothole on K.M. Road, she fell off the vehicle. She succumbed to her injuries in a hospital later in the day.
Mr. Ravi, who is also minister in charge of the district, said on Twitter that the accident was unfortunate.
Letters from our readers
The media only highlights major roads. Even the BBMP is in a rush to fill potholes on important roads, but what about sub-roads and cross-road which are in a terrible condition after being up dug up for GAIL Gas pipeline, BWSSB and other utilities. During rain, we cannot walk on the road. If there is no rain, we have to deal with dust. Citizens are suffering from health issues, like back pain, injuries and allergies. I understand that the BBMP is waiting for completion of all ongoing work before restoration, but they can least ensure that the roads are in a motorable condition. We in Babusapalya are the worst affected. I have attached a photo of the road condition after the rains last week.
Biju E. Punnoose,
Babusapalaya, Horamavu
This is regarding your article on poor condition of roads. It would be of great help if you can cover the very dangerous road conditions in and around Manyata Tech Park. Every day is a struggle and the hatred for the city increases with every pothole we bump into. First, there’s Thanisandra Main Road, starting from Nagavara junction and then Rachenahalli Main Road, which deviates from Thanisandra Main Road and continues towards Jakkur. It is one of the major connecting roads, but the condition is so bad that people dread to come out of their houses. Even the public roads inside one of the most prestigious places, Manyata Tech Park, are in a terrible condition. These are roads where accidents are waiting to happen. This isn't how my city was. If the people cannot even get basic roads or electricity, then what do we do?
Ateet Bellary,
Mesthri Palya, behind Manyata Tech Park
In this series, ‘Road Rage’, The Hindu will highlight some of the worst stretches in the city. Readers can write to us or send their responses to: suggestions@thehindu.co.in
