Belathur residents fume over bad roads, vent anger on social media

The eastern part of the city has undergone rapid development in recent years, thanks to the growth of IT parks and better metro connectivity.

However, one of the main roads connecting Belathur to the Whitefield-Hoskote Road has been unmotorable since 2020.

The 500-metre 3rd Main Road (Surakshaa Road) in Belathur connects seven apartments, a few independent homes and buildings, an orphanage and old age care home to the State Highway 35. Following rains on April 21, the road turned muddy, affecting vehicular movement.

Residents took to Twitter to vent their anger. A resident said that despite active citizen involvement, regular tax payments, and multiple escalations to the authorities concerned, the unchanging situation has affected residents, particularly senior citizens, living in the area for a while.

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Another resident said he had reached out to the Hoodi corporator in late 2020, by which time his tenure came to an end. “It has been over two-and-a-half years, but we still have no clarity about when this will be completed. We are worried that the situation will worsen when it rains, making movement impossible,” he said.

Residents said they reached out to the sitting MLA, Aravind Limbavali, multiple times, but nothing happened beyond tall assurances. Limbavali said several land issues and ongoing constructions have stopped the road from being asphalted. “We will definitely solve the situation should it persist even after the elections,” Limbavali told DH.

BBMP sources said that the road asphalting work cannot begin until the minor irrigation department completes its work. The BWSSB also recently completed its underground drain laying work on the same road, a BBMP official said.

“We are parallelly laying drains on the side, which should be done within a week. We will coordinate with the stormwater drainage department to ensure that the area where the drain passes by is clearly demarcated and not affected by our road work,” said another BBMP official.

He acknowledged residents’ concerns and assured action before the monsoon sets in. “We will complete asphalting work on the road by May 15,” he said.