Tardy white-topping of roads jams traffic all around

The tardy white-topping (concretisation) of major arterial roads has greatly slowed down traffic, putting enormous pressure on the surrounding areas.

The BBMP is concretising 93.4 km of roads at a cost of Rs 900 crore. Once concretised, the roads are expected to last about 30 years. Some of the major roads being concretised are Tumakuru Road (near Goreguntepalya signal), Mysuru Road (from BHEL to Sirsi Circle), Koramangala (20th Main Road to Anepalya), Hosur Road and Basavanagudi. Only one side of these roads is being concretised.

Regular commuters are clearly unhappy with the pace of the work. The part of Kanakapura Road, from Prof BS Madhava Rao Circle to Armugam Circle in Basavanagudi, gets choked during peak hours.

Praneeth K, a regular commuter, said he started leaving early for work after the work began. "It's difficult to pass through this stretch. I leave home early to escape these traffic jams," he added.

Rakshita B M, another regular traveller, highlighted the difficulties faced by pedestrians. While there is no space on the road, the footpath is occupied by construction material. As a result, people cannot walk freely. Senior citizens are the worst hit.

An elderly couple, Jayashankar and his wife, would go for an evening stroll to the nearby MN Krishna Rao Park before the roadwork began. The ritual has now stopped. They now go for a walk to a smaller place near home. "We miss going to the big park. But we will go back there once the work gets over," Jayashankar said.

A senior BBMP official attributed the slow pace of work to the lack of alternative roads to divert traffic. The work is happening only in the night, he added.