Corporator provides seats for commuters

BANGALORE: There was a time when Malleshpalya Main Road wore an eerie look. The situation was so grim that there wasn’t even a bus stop or  bus stand. The commuters were forced to take shelter under  trees.But common sense seems to have prevailed as the local representatives have championed the cause of building not one, but two bus stands and one new bus shelter.With rapid urbanisation, road widening and Bagmane Technology Park in the vicinity near Malleshpalya Main Road, traffic has increased considerably adding to the woes of the commuter. More and more bus services were introduced, but the shelter came in only after the local corporator took it upon himself to build one.“The area did not have a bus shelter for a long time. The people were forced to stand on the road and get drenched when it rained,” M Krishnappa, CV Raman Nagar corporator said. He  also shared that the shelter was built using his personal funds and cost him Rs 1 lakh. He also added that the area was divided between KR Puram and CV Raman Nagar Assembly constituency and getting work done there would require more coordination between the two legislators. “We did not even have a bus stand until CV Raman Legislator S Raghu helped us build one with the MLA fund in Vijnana Nagar,” he shared.But the area, that is dogged with other civic problems may find solace in the transport facilities as Krishnappa shared that a 100/150 area space opposite the new bus shelter would now be converted into a two lane bus stand. “We had requested BEML to provide us with the land, to which they agreed and now a bus stand will come up in that space. Grants from the MLA fund and former Deputy Mayor  Dayanand had provided funds to construct the stand,” he said. The works will be initiated within a few days and completed to ease the stress on commuters to and in this area, he added.Manu, who resides in BEML quarters shared that this is the kind of work they expect out of representatives. “This was a very progressive move on their part to finally address one of the most basic problems we faced. Though this should have been done much earlier, better late than never,” he said. But also  pointed out that the condition of the Kala Mandir Road should also be taken up on a priority basis as it is in a very bad state.