Residents upset over dirty underpass work

BANGALORE: The sluggish underpass work at Kadirenahalli has left residents angry and disappointed with constant leakage of sewage water and unhygienic surroundings. They only hope that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will expedite the construction.Speaking with City Express, the BBMP chief engineer S Somashekhar said, “The delay in land acquisition has affected the pace of the construction. Almost 75 per cent of the work is complete, and we are following a two-month deadline.” While the underpass has got yet another deadline, ground reality here is starkly different.At Kadirenahalli, water from a damaged sewage pipe flows continually, resulting in waterlogged roads. With stagnant water comes unattended garbage. “Mosquitoes wreck havoc here. Children and adults alike are exposed to this hazard everyday. We receive no co-operation from the BBMP,” said Pasha, a resident.Suhail, another resident, critiqued the intermittent nature of work. “We see a couple of trucks come with loads of mud. Then, there is nothing. Mounts of mud lie here for weeks until something happens,” he said.While accusing the BBMP of complete negligence of their suffering, the residents, however, complimented Kumaraswamy Layout corporator H Suresh for his support. “Suresh is very co-operative. He visits us regularly and enquires about the progress of the underpass. We know he is helpless, but we appreciate his gesture,” said Pasha.The contract was given to Madhava Hytech Construction, which was fined Rs 60 lakh by the BBMP commissioner Siddaiah four months ago. An on-site official of the company provided the other side of the story. “The delay is because the BBMP is not footing our bills. How can we meet the deadlines then? If the BBMP plays its part, the underpass will be ready in eight months,” said Umesh, overlooking the current phase of construction at Kadirenahalli.    Chief engineer S  Somashekhar denied the delay in providing bills.“This is a JnNURM project. The funds are released from the state government. There can be no delay. The only delay may be in procedural and auditing processes,” he stated.The Kadirenahalli underpass has been in the pipeline for some time now. Work on the much-delayed project started in March 2008, with an estimated budget of Rs 28.72 crore.The underpass is expected to be 356 metres long and 16.5 metres wide. The initial deadline was 10 months. For the residents here, however, it has been four long years.