Bengaluru: TC Palya Main Road turns into a dustbowl

Bengaluru: When it rains, there is slush all around and when it’s dry, there is a cloud of dust hanging all over. This is the condition of T.C. Palya Main Road, which is also the by-pass that connects the Old Madras Road.

It was more than four months ago that the stretch of TC Palya Main Road, which runs for 8 km, was dug up to lay underground drainage and water pipes. But after the work, it has not been covered properly and the shoddy work done by the civic agencies has left the road in an unusable condition.

Motorists find it almost impossible to commute on the stretch, while residents and shopkeepers are struggling with layers of dust covering their houses and shops. As the entire stretch is unmotorable, the traffic moves at a slow pace throughout the day.

Recently, residents and shopkeepers protested, but no civic official or local corporator either took note of it or responded. The protesters blamed K.R. Puram constituency MLA Byrathi Basavaraj for being lax and neglecting the area.

Now, the residents, shopkeepers and the public are planning to stage more protests and warned that they will not stop until the road is asphalted again.

Mr Muniswamy Krishna, a resident of Hoysala Nagar, said, “The water and drain pipes were laid after the new areas were added to the BBMP jurisdiction. But I don’t understand what is taking them so long to asphalt the road. It has been more than four months and now the road has disappeared. We keep our doors and windows shut to avoid dust. But still, there is dust all over.”

He said, “The area MLA is busy with his political games and not once has he visited the place despite several requests. When we ask BWSSB officials, they tell us that they have done their work and it is now for the BBMP to carry out asphalting. Now who should we go to and pour out our problems?”

When it rains, two-wheeler riders have a harrowing time, as several of them have skidded and injured themselves. Cars and other four-wheelers have got stuck in the loose mud, resulting in traffic jams. Owners of eateries and restaurants are the most affected as they are losing customers because of clouds of dust.

Mr Sagar Pratap, who owns a snack joint near Shanthi Layout Junction on TC Palya Main Road, said, “When it rains it is a problem, and when it doesn’t, it’s a bigger problem as dust flies up in the air because of vehicle movement. At times, it is so bad that we cannot even see just a few feet ahead of us because of dust. We are planning to take out a rally next week.”

BWSSB officials said they have no idea as to why  0the road is still not  asphalted, while the BBMP  officials were not  willing to comment.