BBMP to spruce up Anand Rao circle with cobblestone-type cement blocks

Having laid Church Street in the style of a cobblestone thoroughfare, the BBMP is all set to fix the Anand Rao circle junction with concrete paving blocks.

The interlocking concrete blocks are being introduced in the junction as part of the white-topping project to make it pedestrian-friendly. The BBMP is spending Rs 50 lakh to spruce up the junction.

Water stagnation had damaged the road near the junction, which connects Seshadri Road  and Subedar Chatram Road, troubling motorists and pedestrians alike.

"This stretch has been difficult to commute and we are determined to straighten up the mess here," said S Somashekar,  BBMP chief engineer, road infrastructure.  

Design makeover

The civic body is working on a design makeover to solve the problem. "We've laid white- topping from the Gandhi statue to the Anand Rao circle junction," the chief engineer said.

Instead of white-topping, the junction will be laid with interlocking cement blocks to make pipe laying and other underground works easier. "We could lay the junction with white-topping, but we'll have to overturn this while doing underground work," Somashekar said.

Hurtling vehicles dashing through the junction in a large  volume has put pedestrians in greater inconvenience. "Interlocking cement blocks help us monitor the speed of the vehicle," the chief engineer said, adding, "Motorists will be careful riding on the cement blocks and pedestrians don't have to worry about speeding vehicles."

For any underground work, all that authorities need to do is to remove the blocks and re-lay them later.

The cobblestone-style cement blocks will not be laid just yet, the engineer said as the BBMP has ordered BWSSB to repair the damaged underground sewage drains.

"We will have to wait until the drains are fixed. We will begin laying the cement blocks once we get the all clear," Somashekar said.