BENGALURU: The
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
(
BBMP
) has decided to do away with the concept of underpasses to ease traffic snarls, citing their poor design results in flooding even after short spells of rain.
Disclosing this to TOI, BBMP commissioner BH Anil Kumar said he has directed officials to go in for flyovers instead. “Flyovers and not underpasses are the solution but our engineers don’t understand this. All underpasses where work is yet to begin should be shelved and flyovers proposed in their place,” Kumar told engineers, ordering modifications in existing underpasses to avoid flooding during showers.
Kumar also pointed out how Doddanekundi underpass gets inundated every time it rains. “No drainage facility has been provided at the underpass, while the drain line from the road above also leads to it. Hence, whenever it rains, water gets accumulated in the underpass,” he explained.
The Palike chief said he’s directed officials to put in place ground-level recharge pits/wells at Doddanekundi and other underpasses which get flooded during rain. These wells will harvest rainwater and recharge the groundwater table to benefit nearby areas, he added.
Flyovers help save space, moneyKumar claimed flyover is a better option than an underpass to regulate traffic. “If an underpass is planned, the civic agency has to acquire land to provide service roads; excavation also takes up more space. Land acquisition is the costliest factor as there aren’t many takers for transfer of development rights (TDR) certificates,” he contended.
Kumar said flyovers can be constructed in minimal space. A pier requires a width of 2.5 metre to accommodate a flyover and it also acts as a median. “Even the space below can be used by motor vehicles. The underpass which was proposed at NGEG Junction has been scrapped and a flyover will be built in its place,” he said.
Koramangala residents were the first to oppose an underpass, which was coming up on Sarjapur Road (connecting Koramangala I Block).
“It was in 2011. Residents from many other areas had termed them ‘anti-development’, but the fact remains that flyovers, especially long ones, augment capacity. Underpasses don’t,” a Koramangala resident explained.
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