With multiple civic agencies working at cross purpose on Lingarajapuram railway underbridge, for more than two years, none knows when it will be opened to public.
The plight of people living around the railway track at Lingarajapuram is clear evidence of lack of coordination among the city's civic agencies, with the common man bearing the brunt of their negligence.
To mitigate traffic woes on Hennur Main Road, the BBMP, in association with the South-Western Railway (SWR), built a railway overbridge (ROB) at Lingarajapuram railway cross. The bridge cost Rs18 crore and was thrown open to people in 2006. However, it was planned such (or ill-planned such) that it failed to provide any relief to commuters.
Local residents wanting to cross the railway track via the bridge need to travel a whole kilometre just to get to the bridge. Thee bridge itself is three-fourths of a kilometre long. Daunted, people wanting to go to Cook Town avoid it and cross the railway line when no train is coming. With the undesignated level-crossing becoming the commuters' preferred way of crossing the track, accidents do happen.
B Amalanathan, organising secretary, Bangalore Eshanya Mahavedike, told dna that his organisation was demanding that the BBMP construct a railway underbridge (RUB) to help people cross the railway track. He said the residents had to stage protests to make the authorities hear them. Their efforts yielded result and the BBMP and the SWR agreed to build a RUB for the benefit of those living in Lingarajapuram and Cook Town.
A Balaraj, a resident of Lingarajapuram, said the construction of the RUB began in March 2011 at a cost of Rs2 crore. While the construction was over in four months, ramps have not been built on either side of the bridge in the past two years, rendering the RUB defunct, he said.
Whose line is it anyway?
At the heart of the problem lies the work of shifting two underground electricity lines of 11KV and 55KV. Residents allege that Bescom, which had to shift the 11KV line, caused inordinate delay in completing its task even though the BBMP had paid it money towards the work. While the work was done after much delay, the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) is yet to shift the 55KV underground line.
Govindaiah of the KPTCL told dna that the organisation was granted Rs34 lakh for the work, but the contractor is asking for Rs12 lakh more. He said he is not authorised to sanction the extra money and would send a proposal to his seniors in this regard. He said the KPTCL would take up the work to shift the underground cables as soon as he got the nod from the authorities concerned.
While red tape is holding up the work, those living in Lingarajapuram and Cook Town continue to face an ordeal in their daily commute.
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