Indiranagar 80 Feet Road from Old Madras Road till the Old Airport Road is a mess as the width of the road has reduced because of a BWSSB project to relay pipes. It has been a nightmare for commuters for the last two months, as traffic refuses to move and thick dust poses a serious health threat.
Bengaluru: Commuting on Indiranagar 80 Feet Road has become miserable for motorists for the last two months as the BWSSB has shrunk the width of the stretch by digging up the road to relay water pipes.
As the road is congested, the traffic piles up which was not seen on the stretch for several years. Motorists normally choose this road to avoid the ever-busy Indiranagar 100 Feet Road to connect to Koramangala and Old (HAL) Airport Road. It is used as a shortcut and as an alternative road for people commuting between Old Madras Road and HAL 2nd Stage. But because of the delay by BWSSB in shifting and replacing water pipes, the flow of traffic has been affected resulting in traffic jams, said Jitendranath, a resident of Michael Palya, off Indiranagar 80 Feet Road.
“For a 12-year-old girl, who has been suffering from ashama, the problem has aggravated because of the dust kicked up an unending stream of vehicles. A thick layer of dust gathers at our house every day. Cleaning the house has become an additional task. The BWSSB has taken long to complete the work and we residents suffer,” said Sujatha, a home-maker.
"My daughter needs special attention because of her bronchitis-related health issue. I pray to God and officials to complete the work at the earliest and bail us out of this dust bowl," she said.
Brijesh K., a shopper, said business has taken a beating due to the dug up road. “Now, continuous drizzle has further compounded our problem. Apart from being a narrow road it has become slippery. Getting access to main road has become a tough task,” he said. A BWSSB engineer said a 450-mm diameter size pipe is being shifted to facilitate either white-topping or asphalting work. “But, the BBMP has to provide us the alignment for shifting of utilities. Further, the utilities cannot be shifted to the roadside as it would affect white-topping and maintenance work. That’s why the work has been delayed a bit, he said. The engineer said water pipes are being re-laid to ensure that regular water supply is not affected. But, he said, the work will be completed over the next eight days.
