Road with killer potholes in Appareddy Palya to be white topped

Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT

Around a 200-metre stretch of 7th Main Road of Appareddy Palya was a nightmare for motorists, especially two-wheeler riders coming from HAL 12th Main and other roads to proceed towards Cambridge Road, Jogupalya or Halasuru and other areas.

The pothole-filled road between ESI Nursing College and Department of Space Housing Colony was one of the worst roads of Domlur ward in Shanthinagar Assembly constituency. The road and its side drains were a headache for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) engineers and the residents of the Department of Space Housing Colony.

For more than two decades, sewage water used to overflow onto the road from the drain adjacent to the housing colony. Though the BBMP developed the drain a few years ago, the condition of the road has not changed.

“We saw many two-wheeler riders fall during the monsoon while navigating potholes and craters on this road. We, especially senior citizens, have also faced a lot of problems due to the bad condition of the road,” said Chandra Kumar, a resident of the Department of Space Housing Colony.

He said the residents of the colony had also approached the management of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop the road under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. “Our management has contributed a lot for infrastructure development under the CSR initiative. It has suggested that we approach the BBMP authorities since the road belongs to the civic body,” he said.

The problem with the road is that it is lower than the other roads and the storm water drains a lot of water collected during the monsoon. Most of the water ends up accumulating in front of the housing colony. The residents had to contact the BBMP health department requesting to depute men to drain water from the road whenever it rains heavily.

“We have been complaining to the BBMP authorities, elected representatives, including MLA N.A. Harris to fix this problem all these years. Now, we are very happy that the MLA has instructed the BBMP authorities to concrete this stretch. The work has already begun and it will be completed in 15 days,” said a resident.

When contacted, a BBMP assistant executive engineer said the white topping work will begin in a few days. “Now, the contractor has levelled the road surface. The road will be ready for traffic in 15 days,” the engineer said.