We’ll rebuild it once tender is OK’d: BBMP
The Lingarajapuram underpass is in dire need of attention. The road’s poor condition creates tension for people using it.
The Lingarajapuram flyover connects to Fraser Town in one direction and HRBR Layout, HBR Layout and Airport Road in the other. Just below the flyover is the crossroads that leads to Hutchins Road and Pillanna Garden. Thousands of commuters use the flyover and the underpass beneath every day.
Rual Josef, a resident of Lingarajapuram said: “After the completion of the Lingarajapuram underpass back in 2016, not once did the BBMP care about its cracks and potholes. Even when it’s not a rainy day, the underpass is always filled with water. The underpass is bumpy.”
Many times Josef’s vehicle was about to skid. The BBMP has not responded to his complaints, he added.
The flyover gets congested during peak hours, so people prefer to take the underpass.
R. Sanjay, a user of the underpass, shared: “The number of people who travel through the underpass is growing by the day. The… underpass today cannot handle more vehicles. During peak hours, the traffic is unbearable, and I see no traffic police near the underpass.”
The Observer noticed potholes filled with stagnant water on the underpass. The underpass now sees heavy traffic between 5 and 7 pm.
Mohan Kumar, assistant sub-inspector of the Banaswadi Traffic Police Station, said: “We have appointed three traffic police (constables) at the junction near the flyover to coordinate the traffic throughout. We deploy a traffic police officer to regulate the situation in the underpass during high traffic. Though we don’t assign a particular traffic police officer to regulate the traffic in the underpass, we try our best to combat the issue with temporary solutions.”
M.N. Sreehari, who has supervised more than 250 projects related to traffic, transportation and infrastructure, said: “The health of a road largely depends on its width. If the width of the road is narrow, it deteriorates faster than usually built roads. Since the Lingarajapuram flyover is a narrow road, it reflects on the underpass. This results in more accidents.”
S. Krishnaswamy, assistant engineer, road infrastructure, BBMP, said: “We have received many complaints about the Lingarajapuram underpass for quite some time. We acknowledged it and started the process of floating tenders. Currently, we are awaiting the approval of the tenders… this will take some more time. We are planning to reconstruct the underpass as soon as we get the approval and make it a safe road to travel.”
Sarvagna Nagar MLA K.J. George inaugurated the underpass for public use on December 22, 2016.
yashaswini.s@iijnm.org
