Citizens fume as Varthur under bridge turns into a pool

The condition of the underpass three days ago. 

Heavy rains turned the Railway Under Bridge (RUB) at the Panathur-Belegere road in Varthur ward into a veritable pond, prompting netizens to criticise its unscientific construction.

Angry residents used sarcasm to vent their ire, calling the RUB a brand new swimming pool the officials have opened without informing them. “Best part is, it’s free of cost. Now everyone can swim – this was a witty remark of a citizen about the RUB,” they said.

Vehicles sink in the knee-deep water and one of the RUBs in the road has become a nightmare for the commuters. Residents say that the situation becomes unimaginably worse during the rains.

“I happened to pass through the RUB two days ago. Vehicles are half-sunk since the RUB was flooded. My bike stopped while crossing the water. I was stuck and called for help, but no one wants to get into the water,” said Ankita Misra.

She said water entered the bike’s silencer and she could not start the bike for hours. “I don’t know how I made home,” she said.

Pushpa Manjunath, the local corporator, said the RUB was originally designed as a culvert. The passage was recently paved through the culvert to ease traffic snarls in Panathur.

“Without this passage on the Panathur-Belagere road, commuters would be spending long hours in traffic. The RUB is reducing traffic jams by 50%. The problem is only in the rainy season, as this was originally designed as a culvert,” she said.

The corporator said commuters will not have problems using the RUB now since water drains through a storm water drain.

The situation is no better in the underpass in Doddanekkundi village, where hundreds of vehicles are stranded in the last three days.

“We’re informed that a big team of BBMP officials are working in the site to solve the problem. A rajakaluve nearby is at a higher level and water isn’t draining,” a Doddanekkundi resident said.

Similarly, the Iblur junction-Carmelaram stretch of Sarjapur Road is giving nightmares to commuters. The underground drainage work carried out here is causing water to overflow onto the road.