Corrupt contractors outwit Smart City

The ambitious Smart Cities Mission came about to bring efficiency into civic work. In Bengaluru, the same apathy, negligence and lack of accountability continue, just under a different moniker. Ditches are what we have in place of pavements as roads are dug up and left unrestored - as is the case on Millers Road which has been a mess for five months. Y. Maheswara Reddy reports

People walking along Millers Road, along the stretch that lies between Chandrika Hotel and Ambedkar Bhavan, do so on the main road itself, weaving their way cautiously through oncoming traffic. Five months ago, the Bengaluru Smart City Limited project kicked off in Vasanthnagar.  The pavement on the left was dug up and has remained that way ever since. Unevenly placed concrete slabs, interspersed with gaping holes are what pass for a pavement now. Walking on the other side of the road is not an option either, as BSCL authorities and the contractor appear to believe that pavement is meant for dumping underground duct pipes. “Pedestrians are very vulnerable to accidents here,” says Sunil Kumar, a resident of Vasanth Nagar. “The contractor who dumped the pipes isn’t bothered about the inconvenience he has caused.”

The Smart City project is welcomed by residents and commuters alike, who have no objection with civic development. However, the inconvenience caused by apathetic contractors who act with such impunity, makes the process much more trouble than it is worth. “The delay has become a nuisance for us,” says Krishna R., a resident. “We are not against the developmental work but it has to be completed on time. We demand that authorities concerned complete the work as early as possible.”

Residents say they have raised the issue during ward committee meetings too but say no progress has been made. “The meetings were useful when the then BBMP Commissioner was the nodal officer. He would direct authorities to visit the spots where developmental works are in progress. Now, we attend the meetings routinely but see no change,” says another resident, on condition of anonymity. The pavement on the right side of the road isn’t safe either. “The workers have dug up the footpath but haven’t covered it properly. People can easily fall into the ditch below,” says Ramachandra, who lives in the area.

There are numerous problems associated with the BSCL. Work has been in progress in several major roads and junctions across the centre of the city, including Shivajinagar, St. John’s Road and Gangadhar Chetty Road near Ulsoor. All these projects have been delayed, causing great inconvenience to everyone in the area. Shivajinagar Main Road, a stone’s throw from the busy Queen’s Road junction, where the pavement was dug up and restored, remains filled with construction debris.

St. John’s Road

On St. John’s Road, the failure to complete white-topping work on time has resulted in traffic jams near the junction at Coles Park. A few weeks ago, an LPG cylinder-laden truck became stuck due to substandard road restoration work. “The truck driver managed to avoid a major disaster by applying the brakes quickly when one of its wheels got caught in the loose gravel,” said a resident, Mohammed Waseem. “The BBMP and BSCL need to examine the road here.”

Gangadhar Chetty Road

A few kilometres away, near Ulsoor, residents of Sivanchetti Gardens say contractors and BSCL engineers act like they are accountable to no one. “The quality of work on Gangadhara Chetty Road is not up to the mark. They took longer to sort out issues on Annaswamy Mudaliar Road and need to resolve the problems here too,” says V. Purushotham, a resident of Sivanchetti Gardens.