Nearly two years on, white-topping of 1.3km road in Bengaluru’s Malleswaram remains unfinished

Bengaluru: A stretch that is just over a kilometre long has been closed for white-topping work for close to two years. White-topping work on Malleswaram's 8th Main, also called Canara Union Road, was approved in June 2024, with work beginning in Sept 2024 and the deadline set for Nov 2025. Even as officials are preparing to open one-third of the stretch for traffic Friday, completion of the entire stretch may take another two months.Work on the 1.3-km stretch is being executed by two separate contractors who have taken up two different stretches of the road. This includes the stretch from 7th to 15th Cross (Chitrapur Circle) and the stretch from 15th to 18th Cross. The latter stretch is scheduled for opening on Friday.Shops Take A HitTraders expressed disappointment at the pace of work. Suresh Kumar, a pharmacist on 8th Main Road, said, "We have lost all hope that our business will revive itself. Our efforts over 25 years are now wasted because of this prolonged work. I have been dozing off in my shop without customers." The long-time Malleswaram resident said around 30 shops have either shut down or relocated from 8th Main, adding that the stretch has become narrower and unsafe.Chandrashekar T, owner of a fruits and vegetables store near 12th Cross, added: "It has been 1.8 year since the work started here. The quality of work is abysmal. My shop has incurred a loss of about Rs 20 lakh in this period. I have two kids, their school fees and house rent have to be paid."Malleswaram 8th Main is popularly known as the ‘90 route' as BMTC bus routes 90 and 90E take this road from Yeshwanthpur to reach Kempegowda bus station. These buses have now been rerouted through 6th Main. Change of handsFollowing the formation of GBA, the project was transferred from the erstwhile BBMP's Project Central to Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (BSMILE). An executive engineer from BSMILE, in charge of the stretch from 7th Cross to 15th Cross, told TOI that the project was handed over to the agency in Sept 2025. "The time taken to replace utilities like underground drains and water supply lines added to the delay. BWSSB took over six months to do this. The actual white-topping was taken up after this, from April 2025, under the supervision of BBMP before the project was handed over to BSMILE," he said. The stretch has been funded under BBMP Escrow grants and costs Rs 10 crore. The other stretch of the of the road, which is scheduled for opening on Friday, cost Rs 5.5 crore. "The stretch from 15th to 18th Cross is 80-feet wide. The rest of the stretch is 40-feet wide. There will be a difference in the size of footpaths because of this," the official said.