BENGALURU: A 1.3km stretch of 11th Main in Jayanagar 5th Block looks like it has been strafed on one side. Broken cobblestones, pipes and heaps of debris are all over the pavement and the road. This has rendered walking, riding and driving in the direction of JP Nagar a risky proposition for two years now.
Jayanagar residents are irked over TenderSURE work being stalled on the road two years ago. It began nearly five years back and ground to a halt due to fund crunch. Work from JP Nagar towards South End Circle was completed, but is pending in the other direction.
The Jayanagar road was among five stretches taken up under TenderSURE at a cost of Rs 86 crore. While work on Nrupathunga Road, KG Road and Modi Hospital Road was completed, Siddaiah Puranik Road and Jayanagar 11th Main were not as lucky.
Sukumar O, who’s been a resident of 5th Block Jayanagar for nearly 20 years, said, “Before TenderSURE work started, the road needed work but was at least motorable. It’s not even in that condition now. Gravel and debris have rendered the carriageway uneven, resulting in several vehicles skidding. The pavement has heaps of debris, making it impossible for pedestrians to walk on it.”
When STOI visited 11th Main, heaps of silt and sand were seen on the edge of the road, covering five feet of the road width in some places. There was no place for pedestrians to walk safely.
“We have written to several authorities, including MLA Sowmya Reddy and MP Tejasvi Surya. There has been no help from their end. At this point we don’t know whom to contact and how to go about getting this work completed. Curiously, the pavement in front of the MP’s office on the road is fixed,” the residents said.
Another resident living on adjoining 11th B Main said, “It was very difficult for us to live here during summer as there was dust everywhere. When politicians want votes, they come to parks and ask us for votes when we are on morning walks. But if we need help, they will never be available.”
C K Ramamurthy, former corporator of the ward, said, “We had to remove nearly 25 trees on the other side of road but the MLA opposed this and eventually, the work came to a halt. Now there are no funds and residents of the area are suffering.”
MLA Sowmya Reddy, however, said, that she opposed the way in which the project was executed, but never tried to stop the work. “They had to cut 20-plus trees and I was against it. I even brought in a TenderSURE expert, who said work can happen without having to cut the trees,” she added.
The MLA said she is aware that the work has been pending for a long time now and has written to the chief minister and several others requesting them to complete it at the earliest.
“There has been a shortage of funds for this project. We have little over a km to complete, which will be done once grants are approved. Until then, we can’t set a fixed date as to when the work will be over,” a senior BBMP official said. He added, “We have sought an extra Rs 35 crore to finish asphalting Siddaiah Puranik Road and complete about 1.3km of 11th Main, Jayanagar. We wrote to the government asking for financial aid but it said it doesn’t have the funds right now. Hence, we approached the BBMP commissioner seeking funds from Palike grants.”
