Nothing new about the roads condition here

BANGALORE: Work undertaken by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is known to bring along with it a bag of surprises.At times, they pleasantly surprise us with the meticulous work they do but sometimes, their work makes it a living nightmare for people to bear. The construction of the underpass, in close proximity to the Maramma Circle, however, is not a Christmas gift to open. Over a year ago, the BBMP started work on the same and shut down CV Raman Road for the movement of vehicles. So, a complete closure of the road led people to using alternate roads leading to a complete loss of time and of course, fuel.But people bore the brunt with not many complaints. And, despite the long period of time it has taken for the authorities concerned to finish their work, they have done a shabby job of it.Fatima Ahmed, a pedestrian, said, “The time taken by them to finish the work automatically should ensure us clean and good work. But they have disappointed us. With the systematic approach they have been showing us recently, I expected more.” The road opened to the public, approximately a fortnight ago. It is not asphalted. The mortar used for the construction is falling off.The rains leave everyone in a mess. Peak hours leads to long queues of vehicles.Pedestrians do not know where to go as there are heaps of mud and jelly everywhere. The ‘new’ road is already blemished by the craters that have formed due to usage.Akhila, a motorist, said, “In peak hours it becomes severely difficult for us to traverse through the road. Taking the U-Turn in order to reach the road in addition to the already pathetic condition of the road puts us in severe inconvenience.I wish they had atleast asphalted it before opening it to us.” But the BBMP deserves credit for the commendable work they have taken in making the pedestrian footpaths separately.Despite not being a proper pavement, it does not put walkers in jeopardy.The underpass work, in progress, is however, said to be going well.Linking Malleshwaram to Yeshwantpur, it will ease traffic woes for all those who travel through and reside in the areas in and around.An alternate road has been created for people to travel through opposite BHEL.Half done, officials from the BBMP say that if not for the rains, the work would be completed by now. The local corporator for the area, N Jayapala, was unavailable for comments.