“The increasing noise of the traffic building up on B P Wadia Road disturbs us frequently. We now have to suffer the loud honking and excessive traffic movement that severely affect the conduct of the classes here,” complained Government PU college Principal, B Umadevi.

Echoing her sentiments were her colleagues who were even less convinced about the short-term impact of the Tagore Circle underpass.

“We had requested the police to station a traffic police near our school to avoid any untoward incident. There are a lot of children who move around our school during free time. Anyone can slip and fall in the dug up stretch,” said the college’s Vice-Principal, Umadevi.
The college students had similar concerns. “The barricade that has been placed on one side of the road is not enough to deter students from going that side. It is very scary to think that someone might fall into the pit,” said Roshana, a student from the High School in Basavanagudi.

Meanwhile, children are now worried about the fallout of the underpass construction on their studies.

“With the excavators and vehicles honking round the clock along this stretch, we are not able to concentrate. If this continues during our exams, it will be a real problem,” said Tejaswini, a 9th standard student.

The construction of the underpass has even been the topic of discussion in classrooms. “We were told by our teachers that the underpass was being constructed without the consent of the general public. It is wrong,” said Roshana, a student.