The underpass planned at the T-junction of Haralur Road-Sarjapur Road will become useless within years and will have to be eventually demolished for a proposed metro line, residents’ groups say.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has awarded a Rs 23-crore contract for the underpass that would give vehicles coming from Haralur Road a right turn towards Sarjapur. Currently, vehicle users do not have such an option.
But a federation of citizens’ groups — Bellandur Development Forum, Iblur Environs Trust, Kasavanahalli Development Forum, and Bellandur Forum — says the idea is “deeply flawed” and will only bring misery to vehicle users.
To begin with, the underpass will reduce the already narrow carriageway on the main road. Second, it will further choke the Iblur Junction. Third, it will directly come in the way of the proposed Iblur-Carmelaram metro line along the Outer Ring Road.
Mukund Kumar of Iblur Environs Trust said the underpass would have to be demolished for the construction of the Carmelram metro line. “The only thing that this underpass will do is it will greatly hassle the general public for two years (during the course of its construction) and for another year or two when it would have to be demolished for the metro.”
Iblur-Carmelram was one of six new metro lines announced in the revised state budget for 2018-19 under Phase 3. But the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited has included only two lines (JP Nagar-Hebbal and Hosahalli Toll-Kadabagere) under Phase 3 for now.
Residents’ groups want the BBMP to consult the metro authorities before starting work on the underpass.
Vishnu Prasad, a member of the federation, said that despite repeated requests, the BBMP had failed to consult the BMRCL. “It (the underpass) is a project that has no value for commuters. While travellers from Haralur Road do need a right turn on Sarjapur Main Road, the underpass is not the solution as it will further reduce the narrow carriageway,” he said.
Both Kumar and Prasad noted that prioritising the Carmelram metro line would have helped avoid needless projects like the underpass. It is a business hub with eight special economic zones and more companies are opening despite the infrastructure problems. Building the Iblur-Carmelram line would also integrate metro and suburban rail lines, they noted.
A senior BMRCL official said they had to prioritise only two metro lines under Phase 3 due to the pandemic-induced shortage of funds. “But it doesn’t mean other lines have been dropped,” he added.
Local MLA Aravind Limbavali of Mahadevapura didn’t respond to phone calls and messages seeking comment. Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan promised to take up the matter with the officials concerned.
Chaos at Iblur Junction
The traffic congestion at Iblur junction can be solved by building a flyover from Sarjapur Main Road to the Outer Ring Road (towards KR Puram), the citizens’ groups said.
In a representation, it urged elected representatives to take help from the Directorate of Urban Land Transport for ways to integrate different modes of transport because the Silk Board-KR Puram metro line is already under construction.
“Instead of building a bottleneck and then taking corrective measures, officials can come up with a holistic plan,” Mukund Kumar said.