A walker's nightmare

With more than half of the city's thoroughfares being dug up for repair work, morning walkers are having a tough time. It is never a pleasant walk with uneven pavements and potholes turning into barricades.

Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, CEO of Aeronutrix Sports and a resident of Yelahanka, points out that some of the main roads in his area have been dug up for laying underground pipes and the pavements too are unusable.

"I can't walk or jog on the road because it has been dug up at several places. The missing stone slabs on the pavement makes it difficult to walk at a stretch. I have to break my speed and watch my next step," explains Vijayaraghavan.

He also adds that he tries to walk on the right side because it gives a better visibility of road and oncoming vehicles.

Parts of HSR Layout and Sarjapur Road have also been demarcated for road work.

Madhukar B K, a resident of HSR Layout, says, "I usually run or jog at 5 am and it is hard because the dug-up stretches have no barricades or reflectors indicating the danger ahead. The poor lighting on the road adds to the misery."

He often ends up looking up for areas where the roads are better and usable.

Poornima Dhall, an entrepreneur and another resident of HSR Layout, wants to know why the work is never completed on time.

"It is never a smooth run for people like me. I have a tough time trying to complete my morning walk through uneven roads and broken pavements," she says.

"The contractors either do a shoddy job in a hurry to finish the work or leave it unattended to for days together. Either ways it is bad planning," she adds.

Ranjini Gupta, a resident of Ulsoor and a fitness trainer, starts her day at 4.15 am. She dreads to go for her morning walks on the dug-up road. However, she doesn't want to compromise on her fitness routine. "The pavements around Ulsoor Lake are poorly maintained, so I never dare to walk or run on them. If I step onto the road, I find the potholes and dug-up paths a hindrance. It is tough to find a good road," she says.

And that is a challenge not only for morning walkers but for all the citizens of Bengaluru as well.