BBMP to white-top road where metro is awaited

The BBMP has started groundwork for white-topping nearly a kilometre of stretch in Nagarbhavi where the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has proposed to build an elevated metro corridor. The BBMP’s work is likely to disrupt traffic and partly render it useless because the road median will get dug up to build metro pillars.

The BBMP’s project in question is the comprehensive development of Nagarbhavi 80 Feet Road from the Outer Ring Road to Kengunte Circle along with white-topping of the main carriageway at an estimated cost of Rs 17.5 crore. The civic body had earmarked the amount under the Chief Minister’s Nava Nagarothana programme for undertaking the project. The revised cost is not known.

When DH visited the spot on Sunday, the BBMP had placed barricades at multiple places and a portion of the road was dug up.

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The BBMP, however, does not know about the proposed metro line that passes through Nagarabhavi 80 Feet Road.

As per Namma Metro’s Phase III project, the 32.16-km line — that runs along the west of Outer Ring Road — connects Kempapura (near Hebbal) and JP Nagar 4th phase. At Nagarbhavi circle, the metro line takes a turn on 80 Feet Road, joins Kengute Circle and moves along old ORR and joins Magadi Road and Sumanahalli Cross.

The engineering wing of the BBMP is not aware of the metro lines proposed by the BMRCL in the third phase. While the white-topping of Nagarabhavi 80 Feet Road is about to start, the BBMP has completed the concretisation of road on the old ORR between Kengute Circle and Magadi Road.

Worse, these mistakes are being repeated despite Namma Metro facing similar problems of breaking open white-topped roads while building the metro line between KR Puram and Hebbal (Phase II-B).

Anjum Parvez, managing director of BMRCL, said there is constant interaction between metro and BBMP.

“We have written to BBMP not to build long flyovers on the stretches where Phase III lines are proposed. We have not given any restrictions on white-topping of roads,” he said.