Bicycles a security threat: PWD on razing PBS infra

The PWD demolished the bollards and bicycle sharing infrastructure in front of the Vidhana Soudha on June 22.

The government’s ambitious Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) project had the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) on the one hand and the Public Works Department (PWD) on the other, trading accusations.

On a tip from the BBMP on PWD demolishing the infrastructure, DH contacted PWD assistant executive engineer A M Malathesh. He said the BBMP and DULT had violated the rules. On June 22, the PWD razed the infrastructure on Gate no. 2 of the Vidhana Soudha, just three months after the project was inaugurated by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

“This place belongs to the Department of Public Administration and Reforms (DPAR). Neither the BBMP nor DULT took our permission while constructing it. Who gave the permission? They have not even taken permission from the police,” Malathesh told DH.

According to Malathesh, the bicycle sharing facility is posing a threat to security at the Vidhana Soudha. “It is located right in front of Gate no.2. Who will ensure security? Haven’t we learned anything from the incident at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. If anyone plants a bomb, it may cause a huge mishap. How can they be so careless?” he asked.

“Just because the roads in the city belong to the BBMP, it does not mean they can construct whatever they want in front of the Vidhana Soudha. This is our job and we are doing it,” the PWD engineer slammed the civic body.

When contacted, Krishna Reddy, secretary to the government, PWD, said: “We had to remove them as there was no permission taken from the DPAR that owns the land. There was nothing wrong in officials demolishing the infrastructure. However, the DULT Commissioner has communicated with me in this regard and the matter has been resolved,” he said.

“We had issued permission to the BBMP for the infrastructure thinking the place belongs to it. Now, the PWD is claiming the land comes under its ambit. Thus we have asked the BBMP to submit a report,” DULT special officer N Murali Krishna told DH.

The BBMP had constructed the footpath and bollards at a cost of Rs 1.5 lakh. The Chief Minister had inaugurated the Trin-Trin project along the stretch on March 5, 2019.