Bengaluru: Commuting in the city has dipped to an all-time low of 1 km per 10 minutes, reflecting the sorry state of infrastructure and the nightmare the commuters face on the city roads. Majority of Bengalureans complain that they spend at least three hours travelling from their homes to offices and vice-versa during morning and evening peak hours.
To ease the city’s woes, the government has planned east, west, north and south corridor project, running into thousands of crores. But it has not seen any support from the central government, though Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar is behind it.
Urban experts Vivek Menon and R.K. Misra said that the demand for these corridors had been pending for several years. Mr Menon said, “By using such high-speed, elevated corridors, one can reach one corner of the city from the other avoiding the surface streets. We will need on and off exit and entry ramps. This should be done in addition to upgrading the ring road and commuting time will definitely come down. It will be helpful if planned correctly, no construction should begin till all the drawings are checked. I hope to see this project executed methodically, so that the existing traffic is not compromised. Also, where there is an interchange of east-west and north-south corridors, we need to have a fully directional interchange.”
On the other hand, traffic expert M.N. Sreehari questioned the practicality of the project. “The cost involved is huge. If the Metro Rail cannot be finished in the last 10 years, how will they execute this in five years? How many people will benefit from this? How effective will it be? How many commuters will be able to afford it? We want initiatives that will help the common man. We want the government to do something to solve the issues with city’s roads and traffic,” he said.
“For the project to be effective and beneficial, these corridors should have very good design and planning. We will need several up ramps and down ramps. We need visible changes,” he said.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy agrees that the project is little late for a city like Bengaluru. “But it is better to be late than never. The project will definitely help commuters. As land acquisition is a costly affair today, it has to be executed with minimal acquisitions. We might allot the work to three different parties so that we can meet the deadline, like how we did with the Electronic City flyover. We still have to decide whether to go for a PPP model,” he said.
After the BBMP engineers prepare the detailed feasibility report (DFR), tenders are likely to be called on June 25.
Estimated cost: Rs 18,5000 crore
The entire project will be of 75 km and built at a cost of Rs 18,500 crore within five years. The three elevated roads are, the north-south corridor connecting Central Silk Board with Hebbal, east-west corridor-1 connecting KR Puram with Yeshwanthpur (Goraguntepalya), and east-west corridor-2 connecting Jnanabharathi with Varthur Kodi. While Rs 10,000 crore is estimated to go for the execution of the project, Rs 8,000 crore will be required for land acquisition.
‘Penalising contractors won’t help tackle pothole problem’
As the BBMP prepared to levy a fine of Rs 2,000 per pothole on road contractors, urban experts slammed the civic body for turning to financial penalties to bring the contractors in line. The move will have very little impact on road management and cannot provide a real solution in the long run, feel experts. As of now, the BBMP has identified over 5,000 potholes on major stretches alone.
Way to escape
Urban expert Ashwin Mahesh said that when the money is involved, the contractors will find a way to escape. “Most of the contractors are not paid. Even if the BBMP deducts money from the security deposit, the contractors will find ways to quote more and save the money they may lose to the BBMP,” he says. He suggested that continuous management is the way forward for better roads.
The BBMP should set aside a small portion of funds and machines to fill potholes as and when they are formed. Administrator Vijay Bhaskar, however, stressed that the move will not scare away the contractors from taking up civil works.
“Every contractor will have a liability period of two years after laying a road and if there are potholes within these two years, they will be fined. Even then if the potholes are not repaired, we will deduct money from the security deposit which is collected prior to a project. About 20 per cent of the deposit will be deducted for filling potholes. The BBMP itself will take up the pothole filling works,” he said.
Pending dues
Contractors are still willing to work with the BBMP, though their dues are pending and it will not affect the civil works, he said.
