Around 200 residents living in the vicinity of Panathur came out on the road to cut a cake in a unique protest on Saturday to highlight the bad road condition of the infamous S-Cross road. The residents cutting the cake demanded widening of the road and fixing the pothole problem.
The 1.5 km Panathur stretch that connects Gunjur, Varthur, and Belagere to Outer Ring Road (ORR) is filled with potholes, and about 100 meters where there is a Railway Under Bridge is in bad condition. During peak hours, it takes more than 20 minutes to cross this stretch to reach the ORR. The plight of this road has remained unchanged for a decade, inconveniencing the commuters daily, even as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) repair work is under progress for one and half years, said residents.
A volunteer from Namma Belagere, a collective of residents, said there are about 30,000 flats in Gunjur, Varthur, and Belagere, and a population of about 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh. The carriageway is just 20 feet and it does not have the carrying capacity to accommodate vehicles moving on the stretch resulting in massive traffic snarls, he said.
The volunteer said the BBMP in order to widen the road has to acquire land and recently, it cancelled TDR and came up with a compensation arrangement for 55 properties. However, compensation is still under negotiation and hence widening may be delayed. “The BBMP should work fast to widen the road and has to fill the potholes immediately,” he added.
In light of this demand, the residents came out in large numbers and cut a cake which had a design of a bad road. “As traffic density on Saturday was less, we came out on the road and cut the cake. At least this time BBMP should take us seriously,” he said.
Published – December 14, 2024 10:04 pm IST
