The road construction in front of the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) project has a labour shortage which is causing the delay.
Small shop owners are having low footfall due to delayed road construction in front of KSR railway station’s entrance, which falls under the Gandhinagar constituency.
Balaji, owner of Shri Saptrishi travels near KSR railway station said, “The construction work is going on from the last eight months. The main entry is partially blocked because of it. Due to this construction work in front of my shop, I am facing losses.” He added that before the road construction project had started, the footfall in his shop was 15 to 20 customers per day but now hardly four to five come.”
“I will vote for Indian National Congress (INC) in this election. I wish to see Congress government in power in Karnataka. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has done nothing, Prime Minister (PM) Modi only comes to Karnataka to cut ribbons,” added Balaji.
Gandhinagar comes under the Bangalore Central district of the Karnataka State. In 2018, Dinesh Gundu Rao of the INC had won the seat by defeating A.R. Sapthagiri Gowda of the BJP with a margin of 10,070 votes.
The upcoming Karnataka Elections, set to commence on May 10th with results to be announced on May 13th, will see a three-way competition in Gandhinagar. Narayanaswamy from JD(S), Dinesh Gundu Rao from INC, and A R Saptagiri Gowda from BJP will be vying for victory in the constituency.
However, Narendra, a 58-year-old fruit seller, said, “From when I was 18-years-oldI have voted for BJP. Road construction has been going on for seven to eight months now, but it is for the benefit of the public. Once the construction work is complete then the public will enjoy this facility.”An auto driver outside the KSR railway station, said, “Due to construction work and the blocked road, I do not get enough trips and the number of trips that I make has decreased.”
“The entire stretch from Majestic to the Rajajinagar Bridge has been dug up. Only five to six people work here, I think it will be like this for next two to three months as well,” added the auto driver.
Gowari Shankar, owner of Gowari Shankar Tour and Travels, said, “We provide services like booking buses, trains, and flights and we provide parcel services. Due to the road construction, it is difficult for us to load and unload parcels in buses.”
The Receptionist at Hotel Pavana which is on the road under construction, said, “From the last six to seven months, we are having less customers. Due to the dirt and dust people do not want to eat here anymore.”
She added that the workers are on leave two to three times in a week which is why the construction is taking so long.
Assistant Engineer, Kiran who guides the construction work in Gandhinagar, said, “We are trying to complete the project as soon as possible, but due to shortage of labourers, it got delayed. I am hoping that it will be ready for public use within a month or so.”
