Magadi Rd residents fret over unasphalted road

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bad roads and Bangalore are synonymous and there seems to be no end to their woes.

Residents and commuters of Magadi Road have been waiting for two years for the city civic authorities to improve the condition of roads from KHB Colony to Sunkadakatte. Some of the craters on the road are as wide as five feet.

Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Kamakshipalya, said, “It is true that it was dug up two years ago, but the road has been in this state much earlier than that. I don’t think civic officials have a permanent solution for it”.

Many people use the road, which has been in a poor condition. Residents even joke that there is no way they can leave their vehicles behind and walk the stretch of the road as negotiating the potholes calls for a dancer’s skill.

According to a resident, the roads leading to Magadi Main Road were dug up about two years ago to lay Cauvery pipes. After some time, the road was restored properly. However, few months later, the roads in the area were dug up again for drainage work. Although the authorities concerned finished work on the roads in September last year, they have not asphalted the roads

Motorists, especially twowheeler riders, say that it has become difficult and dangerous to ride on the stretch.

“Even though work on filling potholes has commenced, it is a temporary solution like always as the craters re-appear during the next rains,” Deepak a resident of Anjana Nagar, said.

“We are in a strange situation. When it rains, the roads are slushy and it is difficult for us to walk or commute as our vehicles are at the risk of getting stuck. When it doesn’t rain, the road is filled with dust,” said a resident.

After the death of a 38-year-old schoolteacher on this road on January 30, civic authorities patched up the road at some places. A source in the BBMP said an official under whose jurisdiction Magadi Road comes has been suspended.