At any time of the day, long lines of vehicles stand on either side of a point on 1st Main Seshadripuram. Drivers honk incessantly, many of them not realizing that only 8 feet of space is available for vehicles to squeeze around a huge excavation for Bengaluru Smart City Ltd work. Three-fourths of the road is not navigable even on foot.
Residents of the area are distressed because of the unending work.
“I am now used to the honking of vehicles. It’s a part of my everyday routine,” shared Javed Khan, a shopkeeper in the area. “The work is going on for a long time. For sometime, they had stopped it. Now, they have resumed the work.”
Asked what difficulties he faced as a shopkeeper, he explained: “Mine is a bathroom supply store. Whenever goods come in, there is a problem for me as there is not enough space. Also, the area in front of my shop is not good. They have kept pipes, bricks and mud which cause difficulty for workers as they have to unload goods.”
Residents of the area fear for their children, who might fall into the hole while playing. The elderly might stumble due to construction material lying around the area.
Vikas Srivastava, owner of Sri Sai Baba Enterprises, has faced a lot of troubles. “The work has been going on for so long but still hasn’t been completed. Right in front of my shop, there is this pile of bricks and mud which affects the customers. Old people don’t want to come. No one wants to come to this area.” He shared that the work had stopped for about two months. It resumed when a news channel covered the issue.
There is no space for pedestrians on the road. The footpath is occupied by construction material like pipes, cement and iron roads.
Naga Raj, a resident of the, area has faced difficulties. “My home is on the main road. To come to the main road, we have to take a long route. The alley entrance is blocked by construction material. The main problem we face is during emergencies when ambulances are not able to come to our place or get stuck in this traffic jam.”
Krishna Anand, a tea seller in the area, said the biggest problem he faces is the lack of parking space. “Customers come to my stall but don’t stay long as there is no parking space. My business has been affected by this a lot. Even when they are at my stall, the long queue of vehicles makes it inconvenient for them to stand.
The construction work is causing pollution and “it is uneasy for us to remain in dust all day long,” he shared.
According to the locals, approximately a month ago, Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao, had visited the area and reassured them the work would be completed soon.
Asked how long would it take for the work to get over, BBMP contractor Manou said: “In the next 14-15 days, the work will be completed… The completion of the work took time because there was heavy rainfall in the past few days. We have made the arrangements to resume the work and it will be done soon.” The contractor pointed out how the water that has collected at the site is an obstacle for them.
