Pending smart city works get boost during lockdown

BENGALURU: Unlike the first lockdown, the second one was utilised by the government and the city corporation to complete the ongoing Smart City road works. 21 roads have been completed and will be open for commuters in June and July. According to information shared by Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BSCL), work on a total of 15.15 km of road has been completed during the second lockdown and work on 4.843 km is pending. 

The list of roads which will be open for people to use from June-end include, Hayes Road, Wood Street, Tate Lane, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, Convent Road, Mcgrath Road, Castle Street, Lavelle Road, Brigade Road, Dickenson Road, Queens Road, Palace Road and Infantry Road. According to officials, by the end of July, the remaining roads — Commercial Street, Cantonment Road, Millers Road Extension, Jumma Masjid Road and Kasturba road will be completed and open in July.

Rajendra Cholan, Managing Director, BSCL told The New Indian Express, in case of most of the roads, the final tarring, closing of ducts and clearing of pavements is pending. If weather permits then the works will be expedited. He said that the lockdown period was utilised to complete the works because traffic movement was minimal.

A total of 31 roads were taken up under the Smart City works in Bengaluru. Of this, 21 are done, he said, adding, the pending are- Kamaraj Road, Avenue Road, Infantry Road, Race Course Road, Ulsoor Road, Raj Bhavan Road and Planetarium Road. 

Cholan said in case of pending works, one side of the works and ducts are done, while pavers and underground cabling are pending. In case of the rest like MG Road, Shivajinagar, Balekundri Circle, Richmond Road, Residency Road and Ali Askar Road work is still going on. 

“The work has been going on with whatever labour strength was available. Unlike before, there were labourers, but there was a shortage. However, the projects are delayed, because many government offices also experienced a setback because of Covid, so clearance of files was slowed down,” a BBMP official said.