Pedestrians left far behind

Skywalk Construction

Students of Christ University can heave a sigh of relief as the construction of a skywalk right outside college is in its final stages. However, it is currently posing a threat to other pedestrians. 

“The skywalk will ease the woes of students, thin down the traffic on Hosur Road and reduce the risk of accidents. About 10 lakh students study in the college and more than 50 per cent of them will benefit from the skywalk,” says Harish, the deputy manager of the project.

However, pedestrians aren’t viewing this in a positive light as the construction is taking place on the footpath while they are forced to walk on the road. 

Ganesh, who passes through Hosur Road, says, “It is quite scary to walk because traffic here is heavy and the vehicles move fast. Earlier, we used to use the footpath but now I feel scared that vehicles may hit me since there is no place to walk. Hopefully, things will ease after the construction.”

Abhishek, another pedestrian, adds, “It is difficult to cross the road right now. A lot of accidents take place, especially during rains. The skywalk is helpful for college students but maybe not so much for people walking  on the road. Rather, the authorities should think of widening the road.”

The project started around late August by a private agency, Bangalore Operate Transport, with a contract of about 20 years. “The project was approved by the BBMP and then the foundation, erection of the gantry and lift were started after the work order was issued.

A lift is also coming up for which we have dug 2.5 m underground. It should be completed in 10 days,” says Harish. 

He adds that the team took a lot of precautionary measures for the construction. “In the beginning, we called the traffic police to divert traffic in Koramangala during the process of erection and other safety measures like having fireproof blankets, putting up barricades and ‘No’ sign boards. There are also a lot of power cables around the area and BESCOM has helped in bypassing the cables.

 As these cables run as continuous columns, they would have disrupted power supply during construction if they were not shifted. I also store the materials at night in the university premises since it would be a menace for pedestrians if they are on the footpath.” 

Umesh, the person in charge of the site, says, “It took about four days to construct the skywalk. Due to heavy traffic, we worked only at night so that it won’t be a problem to anyone. It took around two months to shift power cables and we saw that this was done carefully. Sometimes, due to rains, we do incur heavy losses of cement. The labour work too is scrapped at that time. Skywalks are important or else accidents are bound to happen.

There is no trouble for vehicles on the road because we constructed the curb and worked within our limit. We erected the gantry and the civil department supervised the railings, suspension pit and tiles.” Contrary to what pedestrians feel, students view this construction as a blessing and hope that the painful walk down the road will soon turn pleasant. “Earlier, there was a big problem to cross the roads.

 We had to wait for a long time to get to the other side as because of heavy traffic. It will be helpful when the skywalk comes into place,” says Praveen, a former student of Christ University.