Battling the poor road conditions

BANGALORE: Lower Agaram Road, the main road that connects Austin Town to Ejipura and Koramangala has been in a sorry state of affairs for years now.The civic agencies’ blame game is nothing new, neither is the common man’s struggle from pillar to post. The road is broad enough to only let two four-wheelers pass abreast. If a two wheeler tries to pass while the cars are, there could be a traffic jam that could last for minutes at end.When S Vijayan the local corporator of the area was questioned as to why nothing was still done to improve the condition of the road, despite the inconvenience caused to many commuters he said, “I have prepared an estimate for the development work required in the area and have submitted it. I will see to it that the potholes patch work begins in the next two or three days.”He further added that two years ago a proposal was made to widen this particular stretch of the road. While the road from Victoria Road junction and Lower Agaram Road saw considerable widening till Canara Bank, beyond it, it reduces into a two-way. Speaking of the road widening the corporator said that though the proposal was made nothing has been done yet as there are many under-privileged people who reside very close to the road. “There was a plan to extend the road by 13 feet on both sides, but it is on halt as of now due to space issues,” he added.The BBMP Assistant Executive Engineer for the area said that apart from the constant digging to mend and repair the BWSSB pipes, the constant rains have also worsened the situation. “The BWSSB had dug up the area recently to fix some drains. Though their work was over, they have not restored the area,” said the engineerSpeaking of the problems faced by commuters on a daily basis, Niranjan, a resident of National Games Village said, “Fives years ago I used to stay in Vannarpet. My tuitions were held in NGV. I used to use this road to commute up and down. Recently I had to use the road again. It is extremely unfortunate to notice that nothing has been done to improve the conditions of the road. ” He further added that while the Palike is sorting out potholes on aterial roads, this road too requires urgent attention.