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Last infra project inaugurated by BSY in shambles
Commercial Street is one of the prominent shopping destinations in the city. On Tuesday, large gaps were found on cobblestone pavements. Merchants on the road claim that the large gaps on the footpath have become a hazard for the walkers.
Redeveloped at a cost of ₹5.5 crores, (Cobblestone road ) at Commercial street was the last infrastructure project BS Yediyurappa inaugurated in July while he was the chief minister. Redeveloped under the Smart City Project, Commercial Street began showing signs of the damage just a day after the inauguration, and close to two months later the entire footpath of one of the busiest streets in the city is in shambles.
Commercial Street is one of the prominent shopping destinations in the city. On Tuesday, large gaps were found on cobblestone pavements. Merchants on the road claim that the large gaps on the footpath have become a hazard for the walkers.
“A day after the road was reopened, rainwater started entering into the stores. The entire road was dug up for work, which was delayed over six months. We were okay with it because it would help up, but the work is very bad. Now just months after that the pavement has been dug up again,” said Rajesh Jain, one of the shopkeepers on the Commercial Street.
Another shopkeeper said that just days after the road was inaugurated, the civic agencies began digging up the road. “We were told that since the quality of the tiles was not good, they were replacing them. But in the days that we followed, they were undertaking piping work on the streets. If the work was not completed what was the hurry to reopen it?” asked the shopkeeper who didn’t want to be named.
Sreejith Nambiar, a shopper said that the pavement was not just in a bad shape but was dangerous for pedestrians. “They have removed sections of tiles across the pavement, and they are deep. If someone is not paying attention, they could easily twist their ankle or even fall. This is dangerous,” said Nambiar, who works with an e-learning firm in the city.
According to BBMP officials, the cobblestones were replaced after revenue and city-in charge minister R. Ashok during an inspection on August 14 ordered the contractor to replace tiles due to bad quality.
Rajendra Cholan, managing director at Bengaluru Smart City Limited said that the tiles on the pavements are being removed as part of the repair works. The official said that work of removing faulty tiles on the pavements began on Tuesday. “All pipe laying and other works have been completed. This will take care of the flooding problems and we have cleared drains on the streets as well. As soon as we finish repairing the tiles, the tiles on the main road as well will be repaired,” he said.
However, a trader said the pace of work is slow. “They have just left the removed tiles by the road, and it has been there for a while now. We have just restarted our businesses and we were hoping that the authorities will finish the work during the lockdown, but we are back to square one where they are digging up the road again,” said Mohammad Haneef, who runs a bag shop.
Mayank Rohatgi, secretary of Bangalore Commercial Associations said authorities should find a permanent solution to the problem. “We have raised the matter since the day after we saw damage on the road. We are glad that they have taken up the work, we hope it will be done at the earliest,” he said.
