Kanakapura Road residents protest BBMP’s plan to cut down lane for parking

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Around 100 apartment dwellers from Kanakapura Road marched on Sunday, demanding that the pavement installed on the road be removed, citing the possibility of further traffic jams and vehicle parking issues. Kanakapura Road in South Bengaluru is one of the fast-developing neighbourhoods in the city.

With numerous apartment complexes, the road is considered a high-density corridor. The neighbourhood is well connected through multimodal transport. The three-lane road has a width of 10 meters.

According to residents, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has planned to install 2.5-meter long pavements adjacent to the footpath from Banashankari Market all the way up to NICE Junction. So far, pavements have been laid from the market to HM Tambourine, an apartment complex, residents told News Trail.

This means a lane will be taken up, allegedly for parking space for commercial establishments. “This will mean that traffic will still choke, and crossing a signal will be much more difficult,” said Abdul Aleem, a resident and member of the Kanakapura Road Apartments Movement of Change. Despite repeated meetings with officials, residents allege that the pavement will eventually turn into a pay-and-park area.

“The road is home to many automobile showrooms, and car parking will ensue,” said Kiran Kumar, Joint Secretary of Changemakers for Kanakapura Road.

“This will bring chaos to the already traffic-heavy road, as many schools are located here. Reaching them will be a headache if this goes through,” he added. Vajapeyam Srivatsa, an activist from the same area, alleged that the authorities are yielding to political pressure.

“The pavements are obvious signs of a pay-and-park scheme in the making,” he claimed. A memorandum was submitted to BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath on Monday.

“We’re hoping that the project will be stopped. If not, we may look to fight this legally, because by design it is illegal,” Abdul added.