A pothole-ridden road during the CM’s city inspection.
PHOTO/CMO
Bengaluru: While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah carried out a round of inspections across the city, covering areas like Hennur-Bagalur, Panathur and the Outer Ring Road (ORR), residents in and around these localities voiced their concerns regarding the impending infrastructural work.
They hoped the CM’s visit would fast-track the “neglected” roadworks.
A few residents along Hennur-Bagalur Road claimed that a few patches of the road had been fixed haphazardly over the past 48 hours in anticipation of the CM’s visit. Locals pointed out that while some potholes had been filled up with gravel, previously open drain holes had been covered up with leftover concrete blocks.
“There is not a single one on this road where one can peacefully travel without bumping around due to the sheer number of potholes, which are growing daily. The recent white-topping work, while it will be useful in the future, is only adding to the problem now,” said Saritha T, a resident of Kothanur, hoping the CM takes serious action against officials responsible for maintaining the Hennur-Bagalur stretch. Additionally, the CM’s visit caused several traffic jams along the route.
The residents of Iblur shared similar concerns.
Khushi, a 24-year-old engineer, recalled a recent incident where her friend was involved in a bike accident. “This happened on the main road, on the infamous ORR, where the road was so broken that it can’t even be called a pothole anymore. My friend had an accident because he couldn’t see the condition of the road due to waterlogging.”
She feared the situation would only get worse in October as companies pull away from the hybrid model of working.
“My company has asked all employees to resume working from the office from next week, and so have my friend’s companies. I can’t imagine the kind of ruckus it’s going to cause on the road. Already, we’re at a point where the traffic is constantly bad, irrespective of whether it is peak hour or not,” she added.
Speaking about the recent interaction between Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and the CM, where the former declined government access to divert traffic through the company’s campus on Sarjapur Road, many locals believed the response was in bad faith.
“Limited traffic being allowed through the Wipro campus would greatly benefit in clearing up the Iblur junction. Currently, all the companies are stuck on the ORR because our entire ecosystem is here. Even if we want to, we can’t leave. At a time like this, Premji could’ve set an example by lending a helping hand,” said Jitesh, a 38-year-old IT professional.