Commercial establishments on the Laksar Hosur road have seen a drop in customers after the road widening process was started.
The widening process of the Laskar Hosur Road in Adugodi has left nearby shopkeepers struggling to make ends meet. Ningamma, a tea stall owner says that her monthly income has dropped from Rs 3000 to Rs 1000 since work on the road has started. “Before, I used to serve food in my stall. Now, I can’t cook due to dust from the road.”
Ningamma’s sentiments were echoed by other commercial establishments in the vicinity. Velu, an employee at the Vishadar & Sons says that the revenue generated by the company has dropped by 30 percent after work on the road had started. The delivery boy at the previously mentioned gas stove manufacturing company says, “Since customers are unable to park here, they go somewhere else.”
Ongoing work on the road not only poses a threat to businesses but to commuters as well. “A man suffered a fatal motor accident on this road the day before yesterday. His two-wheeler skidded on the road and he was run over by a bus” said Velu.
Work on the Laskar Hosur Road has been going on for a year but only a section of the road has been completed. The work includes laying down pipelines as well as the widening of the road.
There are others, however, who feel differently. “We should be happy. The government has done so many good things. Commuters are adjusting because they support the government. There has been so much development due to which Bengaluru is now the number one city. We’ve got a good Mayor, Sampath Raju.” said Ramesh Babu, a customer at Ningamma’s tea stall.
Work on the road will not be completed anytime soon. “It will take another year”, said Chandrashekar, Assistant Executive Engineer at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike ( BBMP).
Reports suggest that the then Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy had directed the BBMP to fasten the process of widening the Laskar Hosur Road in 2012.
Urban planning expert Ajay Chandran says that there is no prescribed time limit for completion of the road widening process. “A technical report has to be made. Work design planning needs to be carried out.” However, Chandran refrained from assigning blame on the government. Highlighting the importance of citizen participation, he said that more accountability needs to be brought into the government.
His reply to the question of whether they should be more citizens groups to take up civic issues was in the affirmative. “The groups must have experts”, he said.
