Baffled Jayanagar residents ask why footpath is being relaid

People living near JSS College in Jayanagar, South Bengaluru, are outraged that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is unnecessarily relaying a footpath built just three years ago.

While street vendors on the footpath complained they are severely inconvenienced, opinion on its actual condition  is divided.

"We're baffled as to why it should be relaid now," a resident said. "It was laid just a few years ago and is in good condition."

Sushma Suresh, the general manager of Jain Prakriti apartment on the sides of which the footpath is being laid, said the rains had left it uneven and difficult to walk. "The BBMP is only desilting, clearing the patches and relaying the top portion to make it easy to walk," she said.

The relaying work has severely hassled street vendors selling their wares on the sidewalk. "It has been days since the work has begun, but as you can see, the workers haven't turned up and there's an inordinate delay. This affects our business since people wouldn't come to our shops," street vendor Nanje Gowda said.

DH   tried  contacting  Prakash, the local  BBMP executive engineer, but several of our calls went unanswered.

Local corporator Yashoda Lakshmikanth said the footpath had not been dug up. "It has been three years since it was laid and so, only the top layer is being altered. We aren't digging up the footpath," she insisted.

Yashoda revealed that documents with the traffic engineering cell contain the history of the road, when it was laid and why it is being altered.