Panathur residents urge mayor to expedite pending works

They even tried the hunger strike to draw the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP’s) attention, but having exhausted all options, Panathur residents have now turned to the mayor to solve the civic issues.

Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Panathur, Mahadevapura, held three protests, including a hunger strike, in the past three months to nudge the BBMP to repair the roads, stormwater drains and other infrastructure in the area.

While BBMP officials and the area corporator readily turned up and promised quick action, the issues still remain unattended. “Every time we protest, BBMP officials show up and assure quick action, but it looks like we should keep reminding them by staging protests,” Panathur resident Vimal S said.

The RWAs submitted a letter to the mayor recently, urging her interference in getting the works done. One of their major complaints is that the main road connecting the locality with IT hubs like Whitefield and Bellandur is too narrow.

They have been urging the civic authorities to expand the railway underbridge (RUB) on Panathur road, a veritable bottleneck that causes traffic jams during peak hours.

“Streetlights are not installed in some parts of Panathur road. They’ve partially filled potholes on the road, but are yet to expand it. No specific timings (given) for water tankers to use the road. As a result, they block the road and exacerbate the jams,” said Priya Manu, a resident.

Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun admitted that there is no quick-fix solution for Mahadevapura roads. “Many areas (in Mahadevapura) have come under BBMP’s jurisdiction recently,” she pointed out.

“We’ve to lay water and underground sewage pipelines in all the roads before expanding them. This is true even for Panathur road, which we keep digging for underground works,” she added.

“Panathur road is temporarily motorable as we’ve asphalted it. We can expand the road only after the underground work is done. This’ll take some time,” the Mayor said.

But residents threaten to hold protests if their demands are not met sooner.