Wait for Kodigehalli underpass goes on

Janaspandana People of Byatarayanapura constituency air grievances at DH & PV meet

The inordinate delay in the completion of the Kodigehalli underpass has upset a section of
citizens living in Byatarayanapura Assembly constituency.

The underpass work had started three years ago and was supposed to have been completed by now but due to land acquisition issues, the work came to a grinding halt. However, there was some silver lining.

During ‘Janaspandana – Citizens for Change’ organised by Deccan Herald and Prajavani at Sahakarnagar on Saturday, Agriculture Minister and Byatarayanapura MLA Krishna Byre Gowda assured the residents that work has resumed and would be completed shortly.

He was responding to a question raised by B N S Sharma of Virupakshapura regarding the delay in completion of the Kodigehalli underpass, which led to chaotic traffic and obstructed the city bus services in their area.

Byre Gowda  said, “I admit that the delay has caused a lot of inconvenience to the people and the work has to be speeded up but you must know the challenges associated with the work.”

He explained to the audience that unlike other underpasses, the one at Kodigehalli has four lanes. Initially, the width was planned to be 110 feet but later it was reduced to 90 feet and finally to 86 feet.

“Keeping in mind land acquisition issues, we reduced the width of the road. People were reluctant to accept TDR (transferable development rights). Finally, the government agreed to give monetary compensation,” Byre Gowda  told the audience.

The minister said the government has agreed to pay compensation of Rs 8,300 per sqft, which is the highest ever paid in Bengaluru. The government will have to shell out around Rs 55 crore to Rs 60 crore.

He added that there are 70 properties up for acquisition for the completion of the project.

“Most of the property losers have agreed but 12 of them have not given their consent. We are unable to trace the owners of five properties,” Byre Gowda said. He assured the residents that in the next six months, work would be finished since this was the only project for which he was being criticised. He added that next week, the matter of fixing the compensation amount would be placed before the BBMP council.

In response to another complaint by Sharma about the poor condition of roads, he said soon the road would be tarred.

Water crisis
S Nagaraj and Amjad Pasha of Jakkur ward complained that there was severe water crisis in their ward while sewage is also overflowing in many areas.

Srinivasa Rao of Thanisandra too complained that since February 2007, the water supply had been badly hit.

Cannot afford tanker
“Despite several representations, the situation has not improved. We cannot afford to pay Rs 4,000 a month for tanker water,” Rao said.

In reply, Narayana Swamy of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) said the pipeline has been laid in the area and people need to apply for the water connection.

“Until people apply for water connections, we cannot provide them water,” Swamy said.

Byre Gowda  explained that some people are reluctant to have a metered water connection.

“Almost 90% of area has water connections. The problem, however is that in Jakkur, many people do not want to install water meters. It will be wrong to give water free of cost when precious Cauvery water is brought to the city from more than 100 km away to the place you are located.”

He told the audience that the state government has approved a Rs 1,800-crore water and sanitation project in the newly added areas of Bengaluru. Work would commence in 15 to 20 days in Byatarayanapura Assembly constituency, he told the gathering. He added that he was not depending on the Cauvery V Stage and aimed to arrest water leakage.

D Shekhar of Pennfield Gardens near Telecom Layout complained that parks and playgrounds in their layout were in a pathetic state due to the callousness of BBMP officials. He said the park in their layout won many awards as the best maintained park.

In reply, Rashmi of BBMP’s Horticulture Department said tenders would be floated afresh and soon parks and playgrounds would be renovated.

Ram Shesh of Telecom Layout raised the issue of lack of a bus stand and BMTC’s last-mile connectivity.
Sudha Shekhar of Sahakarnagar pointed out that the layout is not cleaned everyday due to which some black spots have emerged in the area.

Nagarathna of Sahakarnagar demanded a bus shelter in Sahakarnagar whereas Narayanaswamy complained that footpaths have been encroached upon. Sai Lakshmi of Thindlu demanded bus services from Kodigehalli and Thindlu to Majestic.