BENGALURU: The work on relaying and developing Cottonpet Main Road, one of the lifelines of the city’s central business district, linking Majestic area with Chamarajpet, KR Market, Mysuru Road and beyond, may miss the September deadline by another six months.
The slow progress prompted mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun on Monday to inspect the road, being developed under the TenderSURE project. “There is no development work happening at all. Only 30% of the work is completed,” Gangambike said.
The 1.13-km road has been closed since February when work began, forcing motorists to take detours to reach their destinations. Gangambike blamed the delay on lack of coordination between departments in the BBMP.
A stormwater drain running below Cottonpet Main Road and covered by slabs is said to be the main reason for the delay. On December 2, 2018, the road had caved in, causing a major traffic jam on the road.
“The entire underground drainage line is a secondary drain, 10 feet below the surface. The Palike’s storm water drain (SWD) branch has to raise the secondary drain and level it with the road surface. They are taking their own time to do it,” said Basavaraj R Kabade, executive engineer, TenderSURE roads.
Work on only 135 metres of the 300-metre drain is complete and the road can be properly relaid only after the entire drain is readied, BBMP officials explained. They expect a six-month delay in completion of the entire road-development work.
The mayor questioned the SWD contractor about the incomplete work and his response only annoyed her. “He kept arguing that BBMP hadn’t approved the payment to finish the project, which is not true,” Gangambike said, adding; “Payment has already been done and I have warned the contractor.”
“The biggest problem is that junior engineers do not coordinate with their superiors, thus delaying work,” she felt.
About 12 roads in Majestic and KR Market area spanning a length of 9.8km are being developed under TenderSURE. “The work order was issued in September 2017 and it was to be completed by September 2019. But there are no signs of the road being developed,” rued a trade activist from the area.
The existing footpaths of Cottonpet Main Road are 1.2 to 2.5 metres wide and being increased by 1.5 to 3.5 metres.
The slow progress prompted mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun on Monday to inspect the road, being developed under the TenderSURE project. “There is no development work happening at all. Only 30% of the work is completed,” Gangambike said.
The 1.13-km road has been closed since February when work began, forcing motorists to take detours to reach their destinations. Gangambike blamed the delay on lack of coordination between departments in the BBMP.
A stormwater drain running below Cottonpet Main Road and covered by slabs is said to be the main reason for the delay. On December 2, 2018, the road had caved in, causing a major traffic jam on the road.
“The entire underground drainage line is a secondary drain, 10 feet below the surface. The Palike’s storm water drain (SWD) branch has to raise the secondary drain and level it with the road surface. They are taking their own time to do it,” said Basavaraj R Kabade, executive engineer, TenderSURE roads.
Work on only 135 metres of the 300-metre drain is complete and the road can be properly relaid only after the entire drain is readied, BBMP officials explained. They expect a six-month delay in completion of the entire road-development work.
The mayor questioned the SWD contractor about the incomplete work and his response only annoyed her. “He kept arguing that BBMP hadn’t approved the payment to finish the project, which is not true,” Gangambike said, adding; “Payment has already been done and I have warned the contractor.”
“The biggest problem is that junior engineers do not coordinate with their superiors, thus delaying work,” she felt.
About 12 roads in Majestic and KR Market area spanning a length of 9.8km are being developed under TenderSURE. “The work order was issued in September 2017 and it was to be completed by September 2019. But there are no signs of the road being developed,” rued a trade activist from the area.
The existing footpaths of Cottonpet Main Road are 1.2 to 2.5 metres wide and being increased by 1.5 to 3.5 metres.
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