Church Street, which was closed for traffic for months, was re-opened on Thursday. The 700-metre-long road has been developed on the lines of TenderSURE (Specifications for Urban Utilities and Road Execution) and was inaugurated by Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George and Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
The ‘model road’ was partially open for vehicular movement earlier this year, even as it missed several deadlines. The road now has a 5.5-metre-wide granite cobble stone lined carriageway with utility ducts on either side. The width of the pavement varies from 2.5 metres to 4 metres.
After the road was opened, Mayor R. Sampath Raj said that though work progressed slowly, Church Street has now become a ‘model street’. “Several traders and citizens have urged the BBMP to declare Church Street a pedestrian-only zone. I will take this up with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Mr. George, BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad and others,” he said.
As per schedule, Mr. Siddaramaiah was supposed to inaugurate the road. However, after reaching Church Street, he got off the bus and proceeded to Tumakuru for another programme even as hundreds of Congress workers had gathered at the spot for the inauguration. They raised slogans in praise of local MLA N.A. Haris, who has been in the eye of a storm after his son Mohammed Nalapad Haris allegedly attacked a youth at an upmarket cafe in February. Nalapad is currently in prison.
