Responding to the protests, the BMRCL said they will fix the issue within two weeks once the rain stops.
An angry group of residents in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar on Wednesday gathered in protest against the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) at the Bannerghatta Raod-Swagath Road junction near Sagar Hospital. The protest was on the issue of the poor condition of the 1 km-long stretch of road from Dairy Circle Junction to the Sagar Hospital Junction for over a year. BMRCL is building the Dairy Circle Metro Station in the vicinity and has turned the 3+3 lane road to a 2+2 pothole-filled road. In addition to the bad roads, there is no safe space for pedestrians as well. Protestors said the BMRCL had taken over a major part of Bannerghatta Road for the construction of the Metro Phase-II (Reach 6), leaving the reduced road space in a very bad condition. Wednesday’s demonstrations come two weeks after Mayor Gowtham Kumar inspected the stretch and asked the BBMP officials to repair the roads following complaints. But he was told it was the BMRCL’s responsibility as it has started the metro expansion work. Even BTM Layout MLA and former minister Ramalinga Reddy (formerrly MLA of Jayahanagar) had written to the BBMP and BMRCL to repair the roads. With rain, the situation has become worse as the dusty roads have turned to a patch of untarred mud road and another part full of potholes. This naturally has resulted in slowing down of traffic movement in the already clogged roads for more than a year now. Girish Smith, a regular commuter of the stretch says due to the present condition of the road, travelling between Dairy Circle and Jayadeva junction (2.5 km) via this stretch sometimes takes an hour. The BMRCL has taken over the Tilak Nagar side of the road for the station and had made a temporary road but did not make any amenities for walkers. Arun Prasad, one of the organisers of the protests by Bahujan Samaj, said, “We have been demanding that the BMRCL repair the roads and make minimum facilities. The condition of the road is leading to two-wheeler riders falling down and slowing down of ambulances. The road leads to Jayadeva and many other hospitals. We know how crucial the ‘golden hour’ is for heart patients. But they (BMRCL) are saying now that they are not being able to lay roads as it is raining. But where were they when it was not raining?” Ramaiah, Security Officer of a car showroom on the road echoed Arun’s views. “We are daily suffering because of this. There is so much road dust and once it rains, there is slush which slows down traffic even further. This is continuing for more than a year now and people are suffering.” BMRCL promises remedy The protests on Wednesday however, prompted the BMRCL to respond swiftly. M Ramesh, Deputy Chief Engineer of the BMRCL (Reach 6), said, “Our MD (Ajay Seth) has already surveyed this stretch and instructed for road restoration. But now due to rains, we cannot start the work. As soon as the rain stops, then within two weeks’ time, we will make the road motorable and fix the footpaths.” He added, “You can see, we have already finished some of the other stretches. In addition in the entire stretch we are carrying out patchwork but the rain has been relentless.”
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