Ground zero: Nayandahalli junction

BANGALORE: An important spot in the city, Nayandahalli junction is one of the major connections to Bangalore for people coming in from Mysore Road and surrounding areas like Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Kengeri. However, the junction has undergone so much change in the recent past that old timers cannot recognise it anymore.For the past few years, efforts are on to make travelling to Mysore from the city easier. Flyover work at Nayandahalli junction started by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has been towards this goal. But while the work drags on, the junction has become a nightmare for daily commuters in terms of dust and traffic jams which last anywhere between 40-60 minutes at peak hours.There is some hope however because if all goes according to the plans of the Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP), the junction could see completion of all work by the time rains start this year. BTP has given permission to 5 civic agencies to finish work at the junction and has given them strict deadlines of having to finish all work at the junction by the third week of May. “The deadlines given by us is to finish work before the start of rains. Usually rains start in mid-May and so we have given them the deadline accordingly. BTP is continously monitoring the situation,” said Dr. MA Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security), speaking to Express.The junction currently has the BDA, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) as well as Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) working on it simultaneously. The BBMP has four different projects in and around Nayandahalli junction, according to Saleem. Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda had recently inspected BDA work at the junction and given strict directives to the officials to stick to their deadlines. This is part of a broader effort by the CM to inspect ongoing projects in the city. “I hope they finish this fast. It is good to see that work is happening but people travelling through this junction have been suffering for too long,” said Rajesh, who stays in Kengeri. However BDA officials remained tightlipped over the deadline. “The main task of laying the pillars has been completed. It should not take long now,” said a BDA official.