Bengaluru: While travelling to Whitefield, passing through Thubarahalli, Siddapura, is a nightmare for commuters. Shopkeepers, professionals and office-goers say that the road here has been in bad shape for a long time now. Making the situation worse is incessant rain and shoddy work by civic authorities that have put commuters and shopkeepers to much inconvenience. Incomplete work by the civic body has caused waterlogging in the locality that is leading to traffic jams, flooding roads during rains. In fact, many have met with minor accidents.
Besides all this, footpaths are being encroached upon by BWSSB pipes and are in a messed-up condition. Commuters say the present chaotic situation of the road is the result of the authority’s lackadaisical attitude. Radhika P from Siddapura, a shopkeeper, points out, “BWSSB had taken up some drain work around 20 days ago and they have not restored the footpath or repaired the road properly. Mud that had been dug up during the work is still lying flung by the side of the road and this has made the road messy and muddy, with two-wheelers skidding all over the place. Due to this there is stagnation of water. Rain water gets accumulated and floods roads and shops.”
Voicing a similar opinion, Arjun Katti, another shopkeeper, says, “The road has been in bad condition for the last two years and nobody bothered to do anything about it. There are humps, potholes and it is not properly leveled. Boys who ride their bikes here at high speed have met with accidents. We see at least five accidents happening here per month.” Pointing to pedestrian issues, Arvind Anand, a resident, says, “It is impossible to walk on these footpaths, which have been encroached upon by BWSSB pipes. The road becomes messy during the rain and it is difficult for people to walk.”
Traffic has been a major issue and due to water stagnation the problem has aggravated. Rajeev Kumar, an IT professional who is a regular commuter, says, “I travel on a two-wheeler. There is traffic chaos during peak hours and when it rains the situation is unbearable. There are times when I am stuck in a traffic jam for 20 minutes and more. If there are heavy rains, the flooding is so much that my vehicle is flooded with water!”
