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Scores rally against steel flyover

Last Updated 23 July 2017, 19:44 IST

Over 500 people from across the city gathered on Sunday morning to cry out “steel flyover beda”. This time, it was at Shivananda Circle where the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has proposed a 326-metre long steel bridge.

Carrying placards, they joined hands in silent protest and formed human chains on all four sides of the junction. Local residents and owners of various commercial establishments chorused in unison that there is no need for a flyover, and all that the BBMP needs to do is widen the road near the railway bridge.

The state Cabinet had on June 8 given the green signal to the BBMP to construct the flyover at a cost of Rs 19.85 crore. With land acquisition, the project cost will escalate to Rs 40 crore. The BBMP has called for tenders to construct the steel flyover with a carriageway width of 14 metres, connecting commuters from Race Course Road towards Hare Krishna Road and the railway underpass in Sheshadripuram.

The BBMP will have to fell 26 of the total 30 raintrees on the stretch to construct the flyover. The trees are over 50 years old and strong. And the residents are in no mood to let the trees be axed.

Mahesh Shivanand, owner of Shivananda Stores who participated in the protest, told DH that there is no need for a flyover. “Traffic jams are only at peak hours, unlike the airport road. All they need to do is acquire three buildings after the railway bridge along with the vacant land and widen the road,” he says.

Locals say that the BBMP had, in order to appease private companies, constructed a walkway of five feet and 13 feet on either side of the railway bridge. They say the space is not used by pedestrians, but occupied by hawkers and beggars.

They also point out that the width of the railway bridge is not uniform, which leads to chaos. One side of the rail underpass (from Race Course Road towards Sheshadripuram police station) is 24 feet, while the opposite side is 18 feet. “The flyover will only carry the traffic from Shivananda junction till the railway bridge, after which the road is narrow again. So the problem will shift from one location to another,” says Mahesh.

“Our request to the BBMP to prune tree branches during monsoon was rejected. Now it cites necessity to axe 26 trees,” say the agitated residents.

Srinivas Alavalli, a member of Citizens for Bengaluru who participated in the protest, feels that instead of concentrating on short-term solutions, the government should come out with long-term sustainable solutions like improved public transport. The flyovers merely encourage private transport which the city does not need, he says.

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(Published 23 July 2017, 19:44 IST)

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