Bengaluru: BBMP wakes up to repair Magadi Road after teacher's death

Bengaluru: The civic authorities have finally started filling the potholes at Magadi Road, after a teacher had fallen a victim to the bad condition of the road. Currently, the work is underway to close the pits dug for laying of water and drainage pipelines.

Magadi Road is one of the city's worst-hit black spots. The road, which starts from Tollgate, is maintained by the BBMP until the Nice Road. There is a well-laid road till Kamakshipalya and Sunkadakatte. As soon as the Sunkadakatte crossroad ends, the six-lane road disappears. Though some potholes have been filled, there are still many that need to be fixed.

For laying the Cauvery water pipeline and a drainage pipe the road has been dug along both sides and covered with mud. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) which has dug up the road has just left it open after completing its work. Road accidents and traffic jams have become common on this stretch because of BWSSB's slapdash approach, complain locals.

On January 30, Sharmila Prakash, a 40-year-old woman, had died after a truck allegedly hit the motorbike on which she was riding pillion at Magadi Main Road. While locals blamed the accident on the potholes and the poor condition of the road, police said the woman was wearing a sub-standard helmet. The incident had taken place when she and her husband were going to visit their relatives. As they approached the bus stop at Anjanapura, the truck allegedly hit the motorbike from behind and Sharmila was crushed under its wheels while Prakash fell on the other side.

Earlier, two people including a policeman were killed in a road accident. Officials argue that the pothole-ridden road was the not the cause of the accident. There had been several appeals made to the officials concerned without any positive response.

One of the Byadarahalli residents, Durgesh, lamented that shopkeepers are paying from their pockets to pay for the water tanker to sprinkle water on the road to prevent the dust kicked up by a steady stream of vehicles from spreading in all directions and sullying their establishments. Though the BBMP has begun the patch work to repair the road dug up for pipelines, the neighbourhood road works are not being taken up.

Durgesh said that if the work had been done before, many lives could have been saved. This road is an alternative route for those going towards Tumkur road via Nice Road. Most motorists choose to take the Tumkur road via Magadi Road and Nice Road instead of getting stuck in the city.