‘No MLA or BBMP officer has come to see the situation; they just talk’
Traffic jams are rampant at Ejipura as work on a flyover remains unfinished.
Suresh Kumar, who lives in the area, informed The Observer: “The work has been stalled for five years. It has been difficult as there is so much traffic on the road. The road has become even more congested and narrow. The BBMP cannot ignore this issue for long as, in the end, we become the major sufferers.”
Raju Laskar, a car driver, said: “Because of this flyover, the road has become congested. This situation has been prevalent for five years. Nobody from the BBMP nor any MLA has come yet to see the situation. All they do is deliver promises, but those promises turn out to be fake because nothing is resolved. it is difficult to drive a car on this route because of BBMP’s ignorance.”
Long-time residents of Ejipura said BBMP needs to look into the issue closely rather than prolong it for a long time.
Dora Swamy, a shopkeeper, said: “I have been living in this area for 15 years. Before the flyover construction commenced, the situation wasn’t like this. Due to a contract issue between BBMP and another party, the work has stopped. This is simply causing inconvenience not just to those living here, but also to those who have been travelling to their workplaces through this route. There was even a court case about this issue, but nothing has been resolved as of now. “The BBMP has started construction here despite knowing that a flyover was not needed. I know that BBMP is going to take four more years to complete the flyover work, but hope they complete the work soon to avoid further inconvenience.”
Residents and vehicle owners expressed their frustration over the incomplete work.
Subrata Ghosh, a citizen, said: “The work has been going on for a long time and several people have complained about this to BBMP. But what is the point of complaining when they have not been attending to this issue? Before the flyover was built, people could cross the road easily, but now due to increasing traffic, it takes 30 minutes for a person to cross the road. The situation has been made hard for people…”
Sadir Ahmed, an autorickshaw driver, said: “It has been five to six years since I have lived here. All that is happening about the Ejipura flyover is about money. Unless the authorities don’t get money for the work, they will not do anything. The work will remain unfinished and common people like us will keep suffering. This is a fight between the government and civic authorities, and people have become stuck in between.”
Prof. M.N. Sreehari, a road expert, said the total estimation, cost and how the funds for the project are being utilized should be taken into importance. “For the convenience of people, the flyover work should have started immediately and ended as soon as possible so there could be less traffic congestion. Any government organization strives to complete the work by a year or six months, but the BBMP is taking way too long for completing the flyover work, which is unfortunate.”
Vinayak G Sugur, chief engineer, Central Project, BBMP, commented: “The flyover work is at a standstill due to the previous contractor, Simplex Infrastructure Limited, getting bankrupt. We have issued two fresh tenders for the project. By next month, we should start work on the flyover.”
The BBMP has assured that the 2.5-km-long flyover, which will connect Ejipura to Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, is expected to be completed in ten months.
janani.s@iijnm.org
