<p>For over half a decade, the roads inside the park have not been asphalted. With the alleged interference of the KPTCL to lay an 11,000kV line below the stretch between Vittal Mallya Road and the Central Library, their condition has only worsened.<br /><br />Navneeth Perde, an IT employee who regularly commutes along the stretch, says: “The condition of the roads has deteriorated over the last five years. With an increase in vehicular movement within Cubbon Park due to the ongoing Metro work along the Minsk Square, the roads have turned into some sort of a war zone. They are so crater-riddled that there’s hardly any road there.”<br /><br />On its part, the BBMP claims the roads in Cubbon Park are to be maintained by the Horticulture Department and the PWD, but the two departments chose to ignore their responsibilities. So much so, the Palike officials say the last time the stretch leading from Hudson Circle to the Central Library was asphalted some eight years ago — in 2003.<br />“Then too, on a request from then chief minister S M Krishna, the BBMP had borne the cost of repairing footpaths inside Cubbon Park and also asphalted the road,” said a Palike official.<br /><br />The Horticulture Department had then claimed they had little allocation of funds for repairing the roads within Cubbon Park, he adds. When contacted, the officials of the Horticulture Department washed their hands of the responsibility. “All roads in Cubbon Park are under the Public Works Department. We have been repeatedly asking the PWD to rebuild the roads, but no initiative has been taken by them,” said a senior official of the Horticulture Department. It is said that while the PWD had been issued a letter last month in this regard, no action has been initiated.<br /><br />The PWD officials have accused the KPTCL of “tampering” with the road in 2010 leading to its extremely poor condition. “We have even sent notices to the KPTCL through the traffic police to repair the damage allegedly caused by them, but to no avail. It is a small stretch of 200 metres which needs to be restored and can then be repaired completely,” the official said.<br /><br />Minister clueless<br /><br />When Deccan Herald contacted Public Works Minister C M Udasi, he was clueless about the jurisdictional authority over the roads inside in the Cubbon Park.<br /><br />“I don’t think roads in the park fall under the purview of the Public Works Department. However, I shall try and find out what it is,” the minister said.</p>
<p>For over half a decade, the roads inside the park have not been asphalted. With the alleged interference of the KPTCL to lay an 11,000kV line below the stretch between Vittal Mallya Road and the Central Library, their condition has only worsened.<br /><br />Navneeth Perde, an IT employee who regularly commutes along the stretch, says: “The condition of the roads has deteriorated over the last five years. With an increase in vehicular movement within Cubbon Park due to the ongoing Metro work along the Minsk Square, the roads have turned into some sort of a war zone. They are so crater-riddled that there’s hardly any road there.”<br /><br />On its part, the BBMP claims the roads in Cubbon Park are to be maintained by the Horticulture Department and the PWD, but the two departments chose to ignore their responsibilities. So much so, the Palike officials say the last time the stretch leading from Hudson Circle to the Central Library was asphalted some eight years ago — in 2003.<br />“Then too, on a request from then chief minister S M Krishna, the BBMP had borne the cost of repairing footpaths inside Cubbon Park and also asphalted the road,” said a Palike official.<br /><br />The Horticulture Department had then claimed they had little allocation of funds for repairing the roads within Cubbon Park, he adds. When contacted, the officials of the Horticulture Department washed their hands of the responsibility. “All roads in Cubbon Park are under the Public Works Department. We have been repeatedly asking the PWD to rebuild the roads, but no initiative has been taken by them,” said a senior official of the Horticulture Department. It is said that while the PWD had been issued a letter last month in this regard, no action has been initiated.<br /><br />The PWD officials have accused the KPTCL of “tampering” with the road in 2010 leading to its extremely poor condition. “We have even sent notices to the KPTCL through the traffic police to repair the damage allegedly caused by them, but to no avail. It is a small stretch of 200 metres which needs to be restored and can then be repaired completely,” the official said.<br /><br />Minister clueless<br /><br />When Deccan Herald contacted Public Works Minister C M Udasi, he was clueless about the jurisdictional authority over the roads inside in the Cubbon Park.<br /><br />“I don’t think roads in the park fall under the purview of the Public Works Department. However, I shall try and find out what it is,” the minister said.</p>
