A part of Sarjapur Road, the busy Southeast Bengaluru thoroughfare dotted with information technology companies, is soon going to be 150 feet wide under a Rs 84.5-crore project.
The Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Department has invited tenders for widening 4.7 kilometres of Sarjapur Road from the Iblur junction to the Chikkakannahalli railway bridge. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) intends to acquire 20.5 acres of land and intends to issue Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) to property owners.
The road will be developed under the TenderSURE model. Each lane will have an 11-metre-wide main road, a 1.2-metre-wide stormwater drain, a 5.5-metre-wide service road and a three-metre-wide footpath. The pavement will have utilities such as drinking water kiosks, sewage water pipes and OFC cables.
A senior official of the BBMP said the utility lines would be accommodated on either side so that the road would not be dug up. The stormwater drain (rajakaluve) will suck in the rainwater, preventing potholes, he added.
IT companies, including Infosys and Wipro, have offices on Sarjapur Road. With thousands of people travelling for work, the road sees huge traffic. H K Srinath, who works at a private company, hoped the project would help commuters.
Local residents, however, say the road need not be widened to 150 feet. Just a 100-foot-wide road will do, they say, reasoning that a metro line has been proposed on the stretch. The Revised Master Plan-2031, however, states that the road would be widened to 150 feet with a three-foot grade separator in between.
For their part, property owners do not want the TDR for parting with their land. They want monetary compensation and have warned of going to the court if the BBMP doesn't heed the demand.
DH News Service