Nearly two and a half years after work began, there may finally be light at the tunnel, or in this case, an underpass. Construction on the JP Nagar 15^th cross Ring Road in south Bengaluru is scheduled to be completed by the third week of September.

Signs of completion have emerged as work entered the 30th month. Pic: Venkatesan Perumal.

Highly placed sources in the BBMP have confirmed this to Citizen Matters but refused to comment on when the underpass itself will be inaugurated thereafter.

The BBMP official says that work left to be completed includes painting, lighting, laying of pavement quality concrete, and work on the service roads. A worker at the construction site says that Rs 10 lakhs worth of work, of the Rs 23 crore project, is left to be completed.

Citizen Matters spoke to Jayanagar constituency MLA B N Vijaykumar who says the underpass will be ready in a month's time. "This is what the contractor told. We cannot depend on them", Vijaykumar says, adding that an inauguration date cannot be fixed unless the work is completed.

Delayed work inconveniences residents and traders

Started in March 2008, work on this underpass has stretched on for over two years now. Sources in the BBMP say that the project has been delayed because of the agency carrying out the work - Engineering Projects (India) Ltd. "They have not used funds properly, they have not worked on proper shifts", says the BBMP source, adding, "If they don't finish the work, we will terminate the contract and get it done from a third party."

Interestingly, Transport Minister R Ashoka inaugurated the overbridge on 24^th Main Road towards Puttenahalli and Jambusavari Dinne on May 2^nd this year.  The 15^th Cross underpass goes below this bridge, where it intersects 24^th Main Road.

A project that was meant to be completed in ten months, will enter its 30^th month in September this year. During this period, residents and businesses near the construction site have paid a steep price. Several commercial establishments were forced close shop because of the drop in footfalls.

In September 2009 Citizen Matters reported on this. At that time, BBMP's Engineer-in-Chief A K Gopalaswamy had said people would have to be "patient". He had also said that the underpass would be ready in a "few months."

Suresh Rangaswamy, resident of JP Nagar. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal.

Residents of the area have also had a hard time, with traffic being diverted to the once-quiet residential neighbourhoods. Suresh Rangaswamy, who lives on 14^th cross 25^th main in JP Nagar I Phase, says the project has resulted in a lot of chaos in the area, resulting in accidents as well.

Thirty-four year old Rangaswamy says the area has also seen a rise in the number of thefts in the area. "So many strangers are passing by. My wife's bike was stolen. We found it after about three months", he explains.

The recent rains have also made life hell for pedestrians near the site, thanks to the slush-filled potholes.

Rangaswamy feels that projects like these are started without thinking of public safety and lack of coordination between authorities. "Any developmental work within the city inconveniences the citizens, when it stretches beyond a point."

Vaishnavi Vittal is a staff journalist with Citizen Matters.

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