City Pulse

It took a collective of 19 citizens to fix a neglected road in a span of two months.

The 27th Main to Somasundarapalya, HSR Layout Extension was every motorist’s nightmare. The pothole ridden, asphalt chipped stretch was not commutable, and the issue has existed for many years. Yet, people who believed they had no option, and who were fine with the “adjust madi” attitude, risked their lives and travelled this road.

Gaurav Pruthi questions this mindset. “When we pay tax, aren’t good roads our right,” he tells I Change My City. Two months ago, Pruthi posted a complaint on I Change My City, which turned out to be a campaign with many vote-ups.

Proactive citizens followed up with progress and setbacks, and discussed them on the portal.

The complaint was assigned to a BBMP official. When one of the complainants, Bharathi A, called up the official to enquire what is delaying the repair work, she was told the work would start after the elections.

One fine day in June, the repair work kicked off, and the 27th main was neatly laid. Since, many citizens are expressing their gratitude and happiness on I Change My City on the speedy resolution.

Repaired not planned

Though the citizens welcome the development, they still point out lacunas that exist in the repair work.

Complainant Swagata De Khan writes that the 27th main needs a circle at the junction. Three roads meet at the junction, however, there is no circle or a traffic signal. With the road being repaired, people travel at high speeds, and this can cause mishaps.

Khan further points out that the repaired stretch lacks a footpath. People dump garbage on the road sides as well.

The third issue is the stretch lacks lane markings. “The lane markings are only done till Andhra Bank Branch and should be done till Rockview,” says Khan. "Many concrete poles are stacked near the power station boundary, and the asphalt work is not done in this area. It needs to be done at the earliest", reads Khan's complaint.

Gaurav Pruthi is happy that his complaint has been acknowledged and worked on. However, he too believes that to make an area developed, all the infrastructure aspects need to be looked into while planning inclusive development.

The stretch may look perfect, but will it last? Will it be maintained?, he questions, and adds that absence of streetlights on the 27th main makes the road dangerous while commuting during late hours.