Inconvenience Regretted’ is all that the authorities have to say every time they put the citizens in some kind of danger.
If you are walking down St Mark’s Road towards Bowring Institute, be prepared for one hell of a ride or walk.
A construction site to fix the footpaths and drains, power lines and gas lines, extends from near Bangalore Traffic Police Park all the way to the petrol bunk near Hard Rock Cafe leaving everyone, especially pedestrians, in the danger of getting run over.
With Stracey Memorial Composite PU College being just opposite the site, safety concerns are bound to come up.
What makes it worse is the lack of precautions taken by the passers-by themselves with cellphones and earphones holding more value than their own lives.
An important point raised by the pedestrians is the lack of signals and zebra crossings on the road, making it nearly impossible to cross over to the other footpath even if they are trying to be careful.
“The smell of the drain in this area used to be awful so it’s for everyone’s best that this work is actually happening. But what’s worrying is how casually people walk on these roads.
There need to be proper crossings and traffic police to help people cross,” opines Sai, a pedestrian.
But others like Vikrama Vishnu Bhat, a student of St Joseph’s Boys’ High School, feels that zebra crossings are useless here.
“I don’t find it scary to cross this stretch as I’m careful. This work is being done for development and it’s our obligation to allow it. The existing zebra crossings aren’t placed properly and even if they were, they wouldn’t make much of a difference. Most people cross to go to Church Street, which is where a crossing is required,” he notes.
According to Balakrishna, the BBMP safety officer on site, the work will be completed within three months.
“We started work two days ago and are fixing the existing sewer line, power cables and water lines. On completion, we will also be re-doing the footpath. There are seven major roads in the City, including Vittal Mallya Road, where these activities will be completed by March 2015,” he says.
He adds, “However, the problem at present is insufficient labour, which is why we’re working on and off. Once the night shifts begin, the work will gain speed.”
When asked about the safety precautions taken for the workers, Kamal, a site engineer, explains, “We provide helmets, jackets and gloves to the construction workers. Within the 150 metre site, we put safety cones, use solar flashlights and LED rope lights and even provide baton torches while working at night. For pedestrians, we’ve put barricades and signs to tell them to go slow and that there’s construction work taking place. We also have safety flagmen to help people cross the road.”
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