BANGALORE: The Old Madras Road that connects Trinity Circle to Hosmat Hospital seems to have earned a dubious reputation when it comes to the state the road is in. The road has a number of problems. To begin with, this could probably be one of the very few roads in the city that has over ten manholes in less than a kilometre. To add to it, at the moment there are three massive potholes on the road soon after the signal from Airport Road to watch out for. However, the biggest cause of worry at the moment is the part of the road that is broken and has a dip. “Due to faulty pipelines beneath the road, a good 20 feet of the road had collapsed,” said T Venkataraju engineer-inchief BWSSB.Last month the road was blocked and the traffic was rerouted. “I was driving from Garuda Mall towards Airport Road at night when I noticed the commotion on the road.There was a major traffic jam as there was no warning signs on either sides. Vehicles were pouring in from both ends. It was only after reaching the spot did someone ask us to take a detour,” said Kumar, a resident of Brunton Road.He further added that the broken patch was not the only problem. “There are a number of manholes and potholes on this road. What makes the situation worse is that spotting the manholes or the potholes at night is very hard. Had the manholes been levelled with the road surface the problem would not have been so grave,” he said.According to Venkataraju, the BWSSB has levelled the road on a temporary basis.The entire pipeline has to be replaced. “We plan to relay 415mm NP3 RCP (reinforced concrete pipes) pipes.At the moment we have invited tenders,” he said. He also mentioned that once the work begins, depending on the requirement, the road may need to be blocked. “In case there is a need to block the road in order to finish the work, I will speak to the BBMP and the traffic police about alternate options for the traffic,” he said.Regarding the numerous manholes on the road he said that once the work is completed, depending on the requirement he may discontinue the line.Another problem on this particular stretch is a sewage drain that has been overflowing for almost a week. While the BWSSB was on a rampage to unblock the manholes in a few parts of the city, they seemed to have overlooked the stinking overflow near one of the main arterial roads in the city. “The drain has been overflowing for almost a week now. The stench is unbearable. The car park in my apartment is only a few metres from the overflowing drain,” said Kulwinder, a resident of one of the apartments in the area.When asked about the overflow, Venkataraju had no information about it.He however assured that he would discuss it with his team and get it fixed.
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