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Development Ridden With Potholes

  • Old-timers living around Suranjan Das Road hold on to memories of the tree-lined avenue, where around 140 trees will make way for a wider roadThe abundant greenery that once made up a charming avenue has all but disappeared now. The exercise has begun to lop off 140 trees on the Suranjan Das Road, which connects the busy Airport Road and the busier Old Madras Road, in order to create a four-lane drive .The 3.85-km stretch will be made 18.5 m wide in this project, which has been jointly taken up by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bagmane Tech Park and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

RESIDENTS SCEPTICAL

  • And if that's not bad, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is re-laying the water pipeline from the BEML gate to the Old Airport Road, leaving behind them a trail of potholes.The residents are frustrated and helpless even as the planning agencies have turned a deaf ear to their pleas.They are sceptical about how well-thought out these projects are.“I don't see why the BBMP wants to create a four-lane road here. Even if it is to make the road congestion-free, the chopping of these trees has added more problems for commuters. The sun beats down on us,” lamented a resident of 20 years, Ronnie P. George.He added that the potholes created by the pipeline work have made driving perilous.
  • Vijay Kumar, speaking on behalf of his wife Sumitra Vijay Kumar, councillor of New Thippasandra ward, said the delay in starting the work was because of delays in acquisition procedures.He said this Rs. 14.74-crore project would be completed in a year. The project, conceived in July 2011, was to be completed in 10 months, but little progress has been made.S. Raghu, MLA of C. V. Raman Nagar, said road-widening would commence in the next two weeks, after the project receives the Cabinet's nod. “This is a major road in the city and hence, in order to avoid congestion, this four-way drive was planned. The land is completely given by HAL. This road will also contain drains on both sides,” said Mr. Raghu.

‘REPLANT TREES'

  • The residents here are agitated about this construction and demand that the lost trees be replaced.“When I first came to live here, I would take my dog for a long walk in the evenings. Now, I'm terrified that it will be run over! We want the agencies concerned to plant saplings here so that they will grow along with the project,” said Raja Ram, who has been living here for 30 years.To this, Mr. Raghu claimed, “We are planning a tree park on both sides of Suranjan Das Road, where every tree will be replaced with five more.”

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