Problems of a narrow stretch

BANGALORE: Problems seem to be brewing at the stretch between Devaiah Park bus stop and Harischandra Ghat bus stop.The stretch that barely covers a distance of 500 metres has a number of problems up it's sleeve, one of the biggest and most frustrating one being the condition of the road.Like most other parts in the city, this road too is riddled with potholes, loose stones and sand.Commuters have a tough time commuting on this particular stretch due to the conditions that prevail here and also run the risk of plausible accidents.However, ignorant of the challenges faced by the motorists, the authorities have one of the two reasons to blame when it comes to the condition of the roads — if its a stretch near the BMRCL metro construction, the civic bodies play the blame game and if there are potholes, the rains are the culprit.Either ways, the ones to suffer most, are the daily commuters. Due to the negligence on the part of the authorities, the condition has been going from bad to worse as the days pass by.Until recently there were shades of uncertainty about who would do the repair work.According to some employees of companies in the vicinity, due to the condition of the road, the traffic on this particular stretch is slow and irregular.‘‘As a result, we are at the receiving end,’’ they said.However the cloud of uncertainty seems to have been lifted as an official from the BMRCL claimed ownership and said that they will mend and asphalt the road.‘‘Until now whatever work we have done has been rendered worthless due to the recent rains.Once the weather conditions improve, we will fix the road,’’ he said.There may be some respite for the residents and commuters who use this stretch as the official also informed City Express that the construction in the area and its vicinity should be over in the next four to five months.Reach 3 (Yeshwantpur to Swastik) and Reach 3a (Yeshwantpur to Peenya Depot) will be ready in another 15 months.‘‘These routes will be ready for inauguration by December 2012,” he revealedAccording to shopkeepers and residents in the area, leaking water pipes are another reason for the craters on the road.Leakage has caused many new potholes to emerge and has also increased the size of the existing ones.When the BWSSB assistant executive engineer, s Vivekananda was contacted regarding the problem, he assured that the matter will be resolved within the next two or three days.Krishnappa, an autodriver mentioned that the area due to the loose stones and potholes is prone to many accidents.‘‘What used to take less than 10 minutes, now takes more than double the time,” he said.