JOIN USChurch Street to get a makeover
The Church Street, bogged down by a spate of civic problems, will soon get a facelift.
With the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) planning to implement development activities, the lane is all set for a makeover.
To begin with, the sanitary pipeline on the Church Street will be replaced by a new one, said BWSSB authorities. The latter maintained that two years ago they had invited tenders to replace the pipeline as it was very old.
But the Palike had not sanction permission to execute the road-cutting activity that is essential for laying the sanitary pipeline.
“We had to withdraw our tenders owing to Palike’s refusal to implement our project. We re-invited the tenders recently, hoping that the Palike will grant us permission for road-cutting. We have met the BBMP authorities in this regard. With the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) supporting the project, it will take minimum three months’ time to complete the work, once it starts. The cost of the project is more than Rs 20 lakh,” said BWSSB Assistant Engineer, Satish Reddy.
The BWSSB officials claimed that the sanitary pipeline remained untouched for more than 40 years and attributed the damages to the hotels that have come up on the lane and also to the laying of the optical fibre cables (OFCs) by Telecom operators.
One of the shop traders, who did not wish to be named, said: “The hotels do not maintain cleanliness and dump the leftover inside the drains which lead to frequent blockage. A week ago, Palike officials, including Mayor B S Sathyanarayana, had carried out an inspection and warned the hotelowners of not dirtying the place. However, a few continue to mess the place.”
Palike Commissioner M Laxminarayana told Deccan Herald: “Development of Church Street under TenderSURE ((Specification for Urban Road Execution) system is on the cards and will be done under the second package. There will be water and power lines on both the sides of lane. Under this, the contractors will upgrade roads and take care of the utilities, as well. The footpaths will be uniform and the lane will last minimum eight years. Along with Church Street, other lanes will also be upgraded in similar fashion, but we are yet to finalise which other roads can be included.”
Seven roads to be upgraded
The BBMP proposes to upgrade seven roads that fall under the jurisdiction of the Central Business District (CBD). The seven roads, under the first package, will begin by December this year, sources in the Mahanagara Palike said.
The project, approved by the State Cabinet, will take a year to finish and an additional four months, if there are any hurdles during execution. All the seven roads - Residency Road, Richmond Road, Cunningham Road, Commissariat Road, Museum Road, St Mark’s Road and Mallya Hospital Road - will be developed under TenderSURE system at a total cost of Rs 78.83 crore.