Under pressure for failing to reopen the Goraguntepalya flyover, which has been closed for motorists for 50 days now, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials maintain that they are at the fag end of fixing the problem.
M.K. Wathore, chief general manager of the NHAI, said the flyover would be opened within a week. Load testing reports were currently under assessment, he said.
Meanwhile, Dasarahalli MLA R. Manjunath has accused NHAI officials of playing with the lives of the general public by taking too much time to reopen the flyover. “Every day ambulances carrying patients are caught in traffic jams. Will the NHAI take the responsibility for the loss of any life? Traffic is piled up for kilometres. It has been close to 50 days and the NHAI is not giving any date for reopening. I am going to raise this issue in the legislature session,” the MLA told The Hindu.
He called for the State Government’s intervention in the matter. “Tumakuru Road connects Bengaluru with more than 20 districts, and the inordinate delay is causing a lot of hardship for the general public,” he added.
Motorists, who have started commuting to work and other places more frequently now that the third wave of COVID-19 is on the decline, are fed up with the hours spent in traffic. Travelling time of those driving to other districts has increased by one to two hours. “The general public are suffering daily but the authorities are unable to fix the problem. During peak commuting periods, it takes hours to reach the office. On some stretches, traffic is allowed only on the service road,” said Ananth K., a motorist who uses the stretch regularly.
The police have been maintaining that NHAI officials are not committing to fix a date for reopening the flyover. “They have been claiming their experts are evaluating the results of the load test. We are hoping that in a day or two, they may decide on opening the flyover,” said a senior police official.
