ORR association demands written order on suspending road-widening

An oral order won't do, says Outer Ring Road Association, refusing to believe the BBMP's and state government's verbal announcement on halting road widening plans.

Even as the state government and BBMP recently made yet another u-turn on road-widening plans in Bengaluru, uncertainty remains over what is to come for properties that have been marked for acquisition.

The state government and BBMP have announced that marking of roads for widening will be suspended. File photo.

The Ring Road Property Owners’ Association (RRPOA) for one believes that this is just a “trick” as no orders have been given in writing. Core Committee Member of RRPOA, Venkatesh Murthy says, “They should withdraw this (road widening plans) in writing, then only it will be official, not orally.”

However, BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah says when instructions have come from Mayor S K Nataraj, there is no need for a written order. “An order is a order whether it’s written or oral”, he says.

Tell him about the concerns that residents have about a flip-flop over widening plans and he is quick to respond. “If I give an order, can my officials go against that? Can I disown what I myself have said?”

But Murthy feels that the state government and BBMP are only making these announcements “to defuse the intense protests from residents across the city”.

In the last few months, several protests have been held in the city, opposing plans to widen city roads at the cost of residents losing their property. The RRPOA itself is one such group that has come together to fight against widening the stretch between Central Silk Board junction on Hosur Road to Nayandahalli junction on Mysore Road.

BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah says they are now looking to widen roads in the outskirts of the city, where land acquisition will be minimal. File photo.

Murthy feels that the government is only responding to the spate of protests that they have been witnessing in the past several weeks. “A lot of momentum has been gained. So these politicians are afraid of losing their seats”, he says.

He cites the example of a statement made by Transport Minister R Ashoka in December 2009, when he announced that all road-widening works in the city were suspended. Ashoka later back-tracked saying that only work on the Hosur Road-Mysore Road corridor was suspended, due to objections from residents along this stretch. “This is just a trick”, Murthy says, adding, “What knowledge do they have?”

Commissioner Siddaiah confesses that it is the intense public protests and strong remarks that have resulted in their decision to relook each road proposed to be widened. The corporation has also suspended marking of properties for road widening.

Siddaiah explains that the BBMP is now looking to widen roads on the outskirts where land acquisition will be minimal. “Then we will move to extension areas and other areas. We will do what is of least incovenience to the public”. 

Comments:

  1. S Srinivasan says:

    I have been warning my colleagues that the step taken by CM to keep the road widening project on hold is an eye wash and is only to buy some time.
    Who can leave a lucrative money laundering multicrore project like Road Widening ?
    Today, CM has back tracked and is reported to have taken a U turn regarding War Memorial Park.
    So we are back to square one. What was promised to Justice Hegde and what he got ? Is this govt. reliable and is for the citizens ? We, the citizens of Bangalore should continue our struggle with more vigor and force. We should call TV Media to expose this Govt and its agencies , specially on this issue to bring out the mindless projects and educate the gullible public.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Walkability and affordable transit ignored as elections focus on big projects in Mumbai

Political parties are harping on big-ticket projects, while hardly anyone is focusing on the city's lifelines — BEST and railways.

As the Maharashtra state elections get underway, the daily struggles of Mumbai's citizens, especially their commuting woes, seem to be overlooked in the electoral discourse. Political parties are focusing on massive infrastructure projects, sidelining the city's lifelines like the Railways and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in favour of the Metro Rail. Despite being partially operational, the Metro has yet to make a significant impact. Surveys reveal that 52% of Mumbaikars walk to work, yet on many roads, pedestrian infrastructure remains neglected, encroached upon, and unusable. While traffic congestion has made commuting a nightmare, trains are perennially…

Similar Story

Explained: Key risk factors behind 60% of road crashes in our cities

Rampant overspeeding, incorrect helmet use and drink-driving are behind most road crashes, finds this study in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region.

Road crashes and related fatalities have surged in metros like Bengaluru and often human behaviour may be responsible for raising the risk of traffic accidents. Since 2021, the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JHUI) and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, have been conducting roadside observational studies in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region to assess human behaviour-related risks for road crashes. The ensuing report, 'Status Summary Report-Road Safety Risk Factors' highlights the prevalence of speeding, incorrect use of helmets, improper seat belt and child restraint use, and drink-driving. Dr Gautham M Sukumar,…