Bengaluru residents stand in boat to protest against bad roads

For two years, the roads that were dug up in Hormavu and Ramamurthy Nagar for various civic works, have been ridden with potholes and accident-prone ditches.
Bengaluru residents stand in boat to protest against bad roads
Bengaluru residents stand in boat to protest against bad roads
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Broken roads, accident prone trenches in the middle, clouds of dust, protruding manhole lids, stagnant pools of water after the rains – this is what the residents of Hormavu had to endure for the past two years. During this time, accidents were a common occurrence. 

According to the residents, the roads were dug up for multiple purposes, including for the Cauvery water supply, Underground Drainage (UGD), GAIL projects, over the past two years. Hormavu is one of the 110 villages that were projected to get water connections through the pipeline system undertaken by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Road (BWSSB).

“We have no roads, no parks, no waste management, no Cauvery, nothing,” said Anuprita Rajesh, a resident of Hormavu.

Tired of civic negligence, the residents decided to bring out a paddle boat and stage protests at the Jayanti Nagar signal to demand decisive timelines from the authorities to fix the roads.  

“We conducted the protest because of the prevailing conditions in wards 25 and 26. We wanted the roads to be immediately motorable so that no man, woman or child will fall and get hurt anymore,” said Arunagiri P from the HARK (Horamavu Agara Ramamurthynagar Kalkere) Citizens Forum.

A group of residents met the Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath on September 6. The Joint Commissioner of the Mahadevapura zone then visited the spot and submitted an initial report. Following this, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Anil Kumar came and visit the residents on September 14.

“He told us that maximum patchworks will be completed within three to four months and complete restoration will take place later,” Arunagiri said. 

They were also assured by the Commissioner that Chief Engineers and Joint Commissioner would visit them weekly and conduct a meeting with the residents. “The BBMP Commissioner also said he will review the status once in 15 days. On a day to day basis, we will be following up on this,” said Arunagiri. 

The BBMP has identified eight major roads that fall under Hormavu and Ramamurthy Nagar to be restored immediately into motorable conditions. The residents were advised to apply for Cauvery water and UGD within 30 days. Patch works have already been started at a few of these roads.

After meeting the residents, the Commissioner issued a statement: “The BBMP has identified 8 main roads where restoration work will be taken up immediately since BWSSB has completed the laying of drinking water and UGD pipes. BBMP will float a short-term tender for complete redevelopment of these identified roads, which will include shoulder drains, footpaths and road work.

Meanwhile in K Narayanapura, which comes under Hormavu, the residents have also been facing bad roads which have led to multiple accidents. The K Narayanapura main road, which connects Kothanur to Hegde Nagar, is filled with deep ditches and potholes, which residents claim is the main cause for the accidents.

“It’s a really pathetic situation. When it rains, the situation worsens as the drivers cannot see where the potholes are and it results with us falling over or get into an accident. My friend’s shoulder was dislocated and when we went to the BBMP, they completely ignored us,” says Cedric, resident of K Narayanapura. 

The residents filed multiple complaints and when their complaints were passed from one engineer to another decided, they decided to file an online petition. “We circulated it in small group and immediately, we got around 900 signatures,” recalls Paul Ruban, who filed the petition.

According to Shaktivel, even the kids are struggling because of the roads. “It has been 2 years now, we are struggling and our kids have developed wheezing problems. There is not a single road here that is good – just dust, water pools and potholes everywhere,” he said. 

While the BBMP initially told the works can be started only in January 2020, speaking to TNM Raju, Chief Engineer (Major Roads), who is in charge of the Hormavu project, said, “We will be starting patch works from Monday, including K Narayanapura, as soon as the tenders have been finalized. We will be making all the roads motorable and also will be cleaning out the mud.”

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