White-topping delay leaves Kadugodi commuters in a fix

A two-month delay in the completion of the white-topping work on the Kadugodi road has become a bugbear to the commuters. Traffic snarls have worsened in the absence of good alternate routes.

Regular commuters of the road said the work stopped some weeks ago.

The work on the stretch between Hope Farm and Belathur via Kadugodi road started about 10 months ago, but is yet to wrap up.

Meanwhile, the BBMP officials said as per the actual deadline, the project should have been completed by November, but, has been delayed due to the contractor’s slow pace of execution. While the work on one lane of the road is complete, the other lane lies in shambles, remains unattended and unusable.

“The Underground Drainage Pipelines (UGD) have been lying on the roadside for two weeks now. Movement of vehicles from one lane where white-topping is complete to the other where it is yet to be done, is not smooth. Two wheelers may skid and fall. I have witnessed such instances myself,” said Kusuma Latha, a resident of Kadugodi.

The residents also complain about the false promises made by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). “We have been promised street lights, cycle lanes and footpaths as part of this project. But, none of it is initiated,” added Latha.

S Muniswamy, the Kadugodi corporator, said the white-topping work from Belathur to Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning has been completed.

“The work beyond that stretch needs to be done soon. It has not been stopped, but delayed by the contractor. The UGD pipes have been on the roadside for some days now; they are not disturbing the commuters in anyway. We are pushing the contractor to finish the work soon,” he said.

The corporator, however, said the work might take some more months to finish.