Lingering infra projects play spoilsport in Nagarbhavi

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

Nagarbhavi ward in the city does not have many civic issues. However, an infrastructure project happening for the last five years now has been disrupting local businesses and commuters alike. On the edge of Hosahalli are the fruit and vegetable markets, which witness a huge crowd each day. The vicinity is also occupied by other establishments that sell textiles, footwear and even jewellery.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had earlier promised to design the market into an underground one, inspired by the famous Palika Bazar in New Delhi. Ward 124, Hosahalli, falls under the south zone and the division of Vijayanagar. It is one of the finest examples of planning failures by the civic body. The BBMP took up the underground project in 2017 and completed it with a total of 40 shops, a year ago.

Instead of opening the facility, it has now expanded its work into Phase II by blocking the entrance to the ready-to-function underground market.  Phase-II work is expected to add another 60 shops to the underground market. However, excavation work has been going on for the last three-four months now. The authorities have promised to complete the work in the coming year, but the street vendors in the vicinity think otherwise.

The BBMP argues that the work is being taken up in phases to cope with the lack of funding. The construction work has resulted in the street vendors of the market occupying the service road which is already narrow. The entire stretch is ridden with potholes as it has not been asphalted after being dug out to install sanitary and water pipelines. Further, the road, which was once covered with dense, tall canopies of trees and bustled with shoppers, has lost its charm and business to vendors has significantly decreased.

“My business has been seeing losses by at least 50 per cent. People do not come to make purchases here anymore since it is inconvenient to do so.  You can't think of stepping out into the street without being honked at by a motorist or slipping into a pothole,” a street vendor said. The street vendors allege that the authorities did not even bother to reach out to them to seek their opinion on the underground market before choosing to build it.

The Vijayanagar bus stop also falls under the same area and was dismantled in order to make way for the construction. It has made bus commuters angry as Vijayanagar is one of the main stands that acts as a midway stop, where many change buses to reach their destinations.

“If people gather on the road then the driver stops the bus assuming we are commuters waiting for the bus. If you wait during the non-peak hours, the buses do not stop assuming we are shoppers at the market,” complained a commuter. Besides these issues, the ward has a good track record of garbage clearance. Residents do not complain about the water supply.

However, the roads are pothole ridden and are in urgent need of being asphalted immediately. In a few places, one can see accumulated garbage. Many roads have deposits of construction materials on them. Near the Visveshwarya Bhavana, there is an exposed drain, only covered by barricades, that could land citizens in trouble. Since the area is quite residential, parents worry about allowing their kids to venture outside.