Bengaluru: Newly-built roads dug up for laying cables, residents furious

Bengaluru: On the one hand, pothole-filled roads is a perennial problem harrying citizens and claiming lives, on the other newly-laid roads are dup up for installation of cables and other utilities. There have been several protests by citizens in Bengaluru recently decrying potholes on city roads. Some even have resorted to pothole puja in their desperate attempt to draw the attention of the civic authorities and politicians to their plight. But they seem to have little effect on the authorities.

The cable installation work has been done in eight wards including RT Nagar, Hebbal, Ganganagar, Gangenahalli and Manorayan Palya. The roads have been dug hastily overnight for laying cables. This cavalier attitude of the authorities have left the people furious as 6-8 feet roads built recently have been dug up for installing two-feet wide boxes.

"We spent two years to get the road work done. We took to the streets to get the locals together and appeal to the MLA to get a good road," Nandish of Dasappa Gardens in R T Nagar said. "But our happiness has proved to be a short-lived one. No sooner had the problem been fixed, they dug up the road and left. It's back to square one," he said. "When questioned the people who dug the road claimed they got permission from the BBMP. We work hard to convince the elected representatives to get a road. The BBMP officials give permission to dig it," he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"When we question the BBMP officals, they claim they have not given permission to dig. When the complaint is given they stop the work and again they get permission and work overnight," he said.