Does Sankey Road really need to be widened?

BANGALORE: The second day of the subject meeting in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council was witness to an inconclusive debate on the road widening work that is being carried out by the corporation in the city.MK Gunashekharan, corporator, Jayamahal, raised the issue in the council with special emphasis on the recent controversy surrounding Sankey Road widening.He wanted to know the corporation’s stand on the Sankey Road widening which is a part of Bangalore Development Authority’s Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2015 approved by the Government of Karnataka.BBMP plans to widen 216 roads in the city as per the RMP. “Should BBMP follow the master plan? Does it have the authority to cancel certain road widening proposals?” he asked the council.Further he also questioned the benefits of road widening and asked if it really helps tackle traffic. Following the controversy surrounding the number of trees that were being felled, he reminded the council that it was THE BBMP’s responsibility to replant trees that are being cut down because of road widening work.The Sankey Road discussion prompted Dr Shivaprasad, corporator, Aramanenagar, to reiterate his stand on the issue.He believed that there were vested interests behind those protesting the road widening work at Sankey Tank.In response to the queries by the corporators, Commissioner Siddaiah said that he had gone on record to say that there was no need for any road widening in the stretch between Bhashyam Circle and Cauvery theatre.He also said that there were heritage trees that should not be cut down. But he clarified that the BBMP had no authority over the RMP.But acknowledged that the corporation does have a responsibility to tackle citizen queries. The discussion remained inconclusive as the mayor said that she would convene another meeting to discuss this issue further.