Dare to take the underpass

BENGALURU: Bengalureans say they'd rather brave the city's terrible traffic than use underpasses here. These tunnels, which are supposed to make a pedestrian's lives easier in helping them cross roads safely, are filthy, unsafe and non-operational, say residents. Officials City Express spoke to kept passing us on to others saying this is not “our responsibility”.

‘Filthy with stained walls’

Underpasses are not regularly cleaned, people complain that garbage is found dumped there, and the foul smell they have to experience every day is unbearable.Roshan, a civil engineer, who regularly takes the bus at Majestic, says, "The underpass at Majestic bus stop stinks of urine, there is garbage dumped all over and there are stains of  betel leaves on the walls. It's unbearable walking through it everyday." Asha (name changed), adds that one can also often find sewage water leaking from the pipes. Nida Fathima, who uses the Bellary Road underpass, says that while this one is better than most others, people dump garbage there. "If I have to take the underpass, I have to hold my breath or hold a handkerchief to my nose and walk as quick as possible."

No security and lights

Kasturi M, a college student, says,"I take the bus from Town Hall bus stand, and the road there is always congested. So the only refuge is the underpass for crossing the road. But it is always pitch dark, with no security either. We feel unsafe." Asha says that women routinely face harassment, near the entrance of the Majestic bus stop underpass. "Men gang up and pass lewd comments, sing songs and follow women."

Geeta Patel, a school student, says, "The subway near Town Hall bus stand does not have a security guard, and is not well maintained. Here, one of my friends was stalked by a man who would follow her and make threats." She says that she'd rather cross the busy road.

‘Smells like public toilet’

Stagnant water makes underpasses smell like public toilets, say residents. Zaina Fathima, a college student, says, "There are 3 subways on Nrupathanga Road, but all three cannot be used there is stagnant water with garbage floating in it. Liquor bottles are also thrown all over the place."
Marella Meghana Reddy, a resident of Hebbal, says, "The underpass in Hebbal is used by many people, but with the stagnant water and garbage, it is impossible to use, especially during the monsoon."

'Underpass is always locked'

Forget dirt and bad odour, some underpasses are always locked up, say citizens, which doesn’t give them any other choice but to use the road.Mohammed Raqueebuddin, a high school student, says,”The subways near Basveshwara Circle (Sankey Road), are locked up all the time. Even at the entrance, one can find filth all over and stagnant water.”Rehena Sultan, a homemaker, says, “After I pick up my kid from school, we need to brave crossing heavy traffic, which is very dangerous. But what is the other option? The underpasses are even scarier than the roads, and the one near Basveshwara Circle is always locked up.”

Mayor promises CCTV cameras
Talking about why the state of underpasses in the city is so bad, Sampath Raj, Mayor, Bengaluru, says,"The reason for the ill-maintenance is rains and waterlogging.The zonal engineers have been instructed to fix it at the earliest. We have passed a tender to install CCTV cameras in the subways. This would help with monitoring the situation, as these cameras will be connected to police control room."

Whose responsibility is it anyway?
City Express contacted S Somashekar, chief engineer (Vigilence and PPED). Passing the responsibility onto the zoonal officers and refusing to comment on the bad state of underpasses, he says, "The zonal officers are responsible for maintenance of pedestrian underpass." However, B Prabhakar, chief engineer, south zone,says that they are not responsible for maintaining underpasses, and that only Somashekhar can comment on why their are ill-maintained. Even RV Govinda Raju, chief engineer, west zone, says that underpasses are taken care of by the road infrastructure department, and asked us to contact B Prabhakar, executive engineer, road infrastructure. Prabhakar, however, says that the responsibility is KT Nagaraj's, superintending engineer, road infrastructure. At the time of going to print, Nagaraj was unavailable to take our calls.