No time limit for project completion

Long delay

The work on the Hennur Flyover has been going on for two years causing unspeakable suffering to people in the area 

Connecting various parts of the City to the airport and the people living on the far eastern side of Bangalore like Kothanur and Bagalur to the centre of the City, Hennur Main Road is one of the most important roads of the City. However, it has had its fair share of problems. Be it the pothole-ridden roads or clogged drains, the residents of the area have been facing a number of issues. And another construction has been going in the area — that of the Hennur Flyover — for the last two years.

Roads have been dug up, closed and routes near Kacharakanahalli have been diverted. However, two years have passed and the progress is still going on at a snail’s pace thereby causing a lot of hassle to residents, commuters and shop owners alike.

The situation is chaotic during rush hours, especially with bad and dug-up roads filled with water throughout the year due to leakages in water pipe and overflowing manholes. Nisha Elizabeth, a student of St Joseph’s College of Business Administration, lives near Kristu Jayanti College and takes this route everyday to go to college.

 “I don’t see the work getting over for a long time to come,” she laments. “The roads are in bad shape and there is no signal there as well. So people keep coming from all sides. This is true especially in the evenings when there is not much light in the area. So everyday, there is a major road block and people end up honking,” she adds. “They should either widen the road or introduce some signals there,” she suggests.

However, the authorities feel otherwise. Says B Dayananda, additional commissioner of police, traffic, “I am aware that the work here has been going on for two years and had slowed down due to the land acquisition issues. But traffic is not a problem at all in the area as far as I know.” However, people staying in the area have a different story to tell. 

The area also houses a number of institutions like Indian Academy and Kristu Jayanti College. So thousands of students commute to and fro from here. K S Sreeraj, the vice principal of Indian Academy, says, “We have at least 4,000 students commuting on this route. During the rush hours, there is a lot of congestion due to which scheduling classes on time becomes a problem.” 

Even pedestrians have a tough time walking on the road thanks to the rocks, potholes and dust due to the construction work. Roana, a professional, lives and works in the area. “I walk every morning and evening on this road and face a lot of problems due to the lack of walkways. Sometimes, I have to jump across hurdles,” she complains. “Since it’s near the highway, the vehicles move at a very high speed. It’s a lot of trouble for the citizens. So I’d request the authorities to consider constructing this flyover on a high priority as many people are using this road,” she says. 

PN Nayak, chief engineer, Bangalore Development Authority, assures that the work will be done soon. “The project was delayed because of issues pertaining to land acquisition. But recently, these were resolved. So the flyover will take around three months to finish,” he informs.