Bumpy going on Udaya Nagar’s dreadful roads

A man rides a moped along a road in a shocking state of disrepair.

By Shikha Kumar

BANGALORE (Sept. 29)—Udaya Nagar in Uttarahalli greets its visitors with a ditch centimetres wide and a meter deep, dug-up roads, potholes and bumpy untarred trails with chunks of rubble strewn around.

Neatly structured three-story buildings and colourful houses adorn the lane. The roads, however, are in stark contrast.

Srinivas, the manager at the Domino’s Pizza situated on the road, said the residents are now used to seeing the road in this state, adding that the workers even out the road with mud every now and then, but the condition deteriorates again in a few days. 

Since the street is dug up at the entrance, the lane becomes even narrower and this makes it impossible for ambulances and other emergency facilities to reach the area.

The situation, according to the residents, has been the same for over a year now.

Residents accuse BBMP of neglect

Ramakrishna, the treasurer at one of the buildings in the area, said the road was dug up to install a drainage pipe. He said he failed to understand the complacent attitude of the city corporation, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, now that the installation work is complete.

A potholed road

Ramakrishna said that the residents have repeatedly lodged complaints with the BBMP corporator of Uttarahalli ward, Vijaya Ramesh.

Yashaswini, an Udaya Nagar resident and an employee at Hewlett Packard, said the BBMP always makes empty promises. She said the situation takes a turn for the worse in the monsoons as the uneven road becomes a cause for minor accidents.

“Senior citizens and children especially face problems when walking on this road. In fact, just recently, a child fell into the ditch and hurt himself,” Yashaswini said.

There is a preschool located at the end of the lane.

BBMP: Road will be fixed in 6 months

Vijaya Ramesh, who stays in the adjacent lane, said she had sent engineers to inspect the area.

“They heard the problems of the residents and will act upon them immediately,” she said.

Vijaya Ramesh promised that the problem will be solved, vowing, “The asphalting work has begun, and the road will be fixed within six months.”