Bengaluru: For 20 years, no asphalt for these roads

Bengaluru: When Rijoe Geroge and his family moved to Ananth Nagar in Electronics City (Phase 2), they had many reasons to cheer. The locality was lush green, a lake stood close by and though it was close to the Hosur Main Road, the area was free from its din and bustle. However, just when they thought the area was ‘ideal’, a heavy downpour brought them closer to reality.

The Hosur Main Road, about three kilometres Ananth Nagar, got flooded with rain water mixed with overflowing Veersandra Lake and travelling on all roads in its vicinity, including Ananth Nagar, became a nightmare.

George said, “Water accumulates up to four feet on the Hosur road and even enters cars through windows. The Ananth Nagar Main Road too suffers due to this. Constant water stagnation increases the number of potholes and every month we have to shell out money on car repairs.”

Numerous apartments are coming up in the area and construction lorries frequent Ananth Nagar Main Road. “The lorries are a menace in the locality,” added Saravana S., another resident,

“They make more than 30 trips a day and the carrying capacity of the road is very less and is narrow. There’s neither any rule to monitor these construction activities nor has the government bothered to asphalt the road. There’s an increase in the number of accidents due to potholes,” he added.

On many occasions the residents have tried contacting the BBMP officials, but were told that the area is still not added to the BBMP limits.

Ganesh, another resident, said that as a temporary solution the Anekal Panchayat had laid cement mix on potholes about six months ago, but the rains washed it away.

“Nobody has looked back after the monsoons and we don’t know since how many years the road has not been asphalted. The potholed roads, traffic menace and rampant construction activities are only increasing with every passing day and we don’t know what to do except wait for the mercy of officials,” rues Ganesh.

The area is fast developing but lacks basic infrastructure: Shivanna.B
Why is the condition of roads in Ananth Nagar so bad?  
The roads have not been asphalted for the last 20 years and since Ananth Nagar comes under village limits, not much attention has been given to the area by the previous MLA. Though the area is fast developing it has been deprived of basic infrastructure.

Why have you not taken any action yet?
Well, I had sent a proposal earlier to the state government to repair the roads and the proposal was rejected. Later, about six months ago, I have sent another proposal seeking '1.5 crore to repair some of the main roads. Now, I am waiting for the state government’s approval.

Why was the proposal not sent before the monsoons and when will the roads be repaired?
The plan was to repair the road before the monsoon, but I had not expected the proposal would be turned down. Since the proposal is pending before the government it’s difficult to say by when the roads will be repaired. 

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