BBMP gets busy again ahead of PM visit, races to give Majestic a facelift

BBMP scraping Gubbi Thotadappa Road to relay it ahead of the PM’s visit.

Parts of Majestic — which are eyesores and generally congested — are getting a facelift ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengaluru on November 11. The plan also includes the formation of a new road to the rear gate of KSR Bengaluru railway station from Sangolli Rayanna circle.

Workers were milling the Gubbi Thotadappa Road connecting Shantala Circle and Sangolli Rayanna Circle for laying a fresh coat of tar.

Earthmovers were deployed to lay a new road to the station’s second entrance from the circle. This is expected to cut down the distance to the station as motorists currently pass through the underpass (Okalipuram junction) and take a left turn.

A BBMP official said pothole-filling has been a regular activity but some stretches – where there is VVIP movement – are being taken up on priority. “The stretches on which the prime minister will travel – from HAL, Legislators’ Home and KSR Railway Station to Kempegowda International Airport – are more or less smooth and need no major repairs,” the official said.

Tushar Girinath, BBMP’s chief commissioner, said, “We are filling potholes and pruning branches ahead of the PM’s visit.” Girinath had chaired a meeting with zonal chief engineers where he extended the deadline to make Bengaluru pothole-free by November 15.

The BBMP claims 92 per cent of the potholes have been filled in the last two days. “Around 2,494 potholes are yet to be filled,” a press release states.

The PM is expected to flag off two trains from KSR Railway Station (Vande Bharat to Chennai and Bharat Gaurav train to Kashi via Hubballi, Belagavi), unveil Nadaprabhu Kempegowda's statue and throw open the second terminal of Kempegowda International Airport.

During the PM’s visit in June, BBMP had spent Rs 23 crore to repair 14 km of roads. As the whopping amount and the shoddy work had made headlines, the civic body was silent over how much it is spending for repairs this time.

Public toilet needed

The footpath towards Sangolli Rayanna Circle from the subway (KSR Railway Station entrance) has turned into an open toilet and is stinking.

An official said they would look at building a toilet but pointed out that white-topping the road includes development of a footpath along Gubbi Thotadappa Road. “We have white-topped one side of the road. Due to lack of permission from the traffic police, the other portion has been held back. We will take it up after the PM’s visit,” he said. The railways may have to part with a small portion of its premises (near the parking lot) for the toilet, BBMP officials said.