Hampinagar: A dash of flowing water in the road

BANGALORE: Hampi Nagar has been named after a heritage site of India which once stood, in all its glory, as the capital of the Vijayanagar empire. Traces of this can be seen even now when one takes a walk through this locality. Be it the market which resembles strongly the backdrop of rural life or the people itself who seem to have taken in their stride the hassles caused by the ‘Namma Metro’ construction just a few metres away.So in an area like this, a deep crater, in the true meaning of the word, would definitely be a troublesome issue. A part of the road, right in front of the Hampi Nagarbus Station has given way to the water flow underneath. The sight of the flowing water is so spectacular that people queue up to see the water flowing underneath. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara Palike (BBMP) has surrounded the area with barricades but the risk involved with the situation seems to have got no lesser. Not only does the hole block half of the road, but also acts as a major problem for the pedestrians.  A resident, Steffi Babu, remarked, “It has been this way for years now. When we were young, the water flow due to the same, would cause most of the huts built of straw and mud to collapse. Even now, if it rains heavily, the road being a low lying road is severely affected as water logging becomes a common sight everywhere. This causes a lot of inconvenience to the road users.” Adjacent to this large abyss is a park. And the park is in no better situation than the road. With garbage dumped and dried coconut branches and shells disposed inside the park, the place seems to no more mean a green stretch of land used for recreational purpose.A motorist on the road, Sharath, best expressed traversing through the road. “I still remember the first time I travelled through the road. The mere sight and sound of the water made me drift my bike and stop. On a more serious note, it needs to be covered up by the authorities immediately as it makes the road an accident-prone zone. The issue should be tackled on priority basis.” Another major cause of concern is the fact that the rest of the road might soon come crumbling down due to the depression. A few cracks in the road seem to be proving exactly the same. Adding to the chaos is the recent increase in traffic that the road seems to be receiving due to the metro work. Also, with no street lights, travelling in the night becomes a major issue for pedestrians.Formerly called RPC Layout, the area’s local corporator is Chandrashekarayya. When City Express got in touch with him, he said, “We have prepared an estimate and submitted a tender regarding the same. Once it is approved, we will begin work as soon as possible. We might begin as early as next week.”