Sarjapur Road to be back in shape in four months

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) plans to complete the restoration work on Sarjapur Road and 80-feet road in four months.
The announcement has brought some cheers to the residents of Koramangala and other road users.

For, over two years, various stretches of the road have been dug up to build a signal-free corridor between Sirsi Circle and Agara. This has made almost half the road unusable, creating many problems for motorists.

Tenders not finalised

Speaking to Deccan Herald, sources in the BDA said: “Work on the road has not commenced as the process of finalising the tenders is yet to be completed. We are hopeful that the process will be completed in the next 15 days. Complete restoration would take three months after the finalisation of tenders.” The restoration work is estimated to cost around Rs one crore.

To facilitate the signal-free corridor, over 150 trees had been axed and the High Court had ordered planting of saplings to make up for the loss.

BDA’s deputy conservator of forests B Jayaram said the procedure had been completed earlier and lakhs of trees were planted in BDA parks and sites.

“Once the restoration work is completed, we will plant saplings along Sarjapur Road. If enough space is not available, we will plant smaller shrubs. But, we will try to see to it that it retains its old charm,” Jayaram said.

Recommendation

The Sirsi Circle-Agara signal-free project had seen several protests from the residents of Koramangala, which was followed by orders from High Court asking the government to keep the interest of all stakeholders in mind.

Subsequently, a sub-committee chaired by the then Law minister S Suresh Kumar was constituted, which recommended the scrapping of the signal-free corridor project and restoration of the existing road.

Onset of monsoon

Koramangala Task Force member Vishwanath Kashyap said that he was sceptical of the restoration getting over in three months due to the onset of the monsoon. He felt that the work should have begun early summer.

Residents, however, seem delighted that the work would start soon.

Matthew R, a resident of Koramangala, 1st Block, said: “This is music to my ears. For over two years, half the road has been dug up. There used to be seamless traffic before that. Now, making it from St Johns Hospital to Aishwarya junction takes nothing less than 20 minutes. It is very frustrating. There was no need for a signal-free corridor.”