Bengaluru: Responding to growing public outrage over traffic congestion and deteriorating road conditions on the Varthur-Gunjur stretch (SH-35), Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao conducted an early-morning inspection of the corridor Saturday and directed officials to constitute a multi-agency task force to accelerate pending works.This comes in the backdrop of multiple reports by The Times of India highlighting the pathetic state of road infrastructure in the area, which is dotted with apartments occupied by those working in the tech sector. Residents too had hit the streets to protest severe traffic snarls, poor road conditions, and a lack of coordination among multiple agencies executing infrastructure works in the fast-growing corridor.Rao walked along the stretch from Varthur Kodi to Varthur police station, inspecting ongoing roadworks, bottlenecks and commuter facilities. Following interactions with residents and officials, Rao said one of the key issues affecting progress was the involvement of multiple agencies operating independently on the same stretch. “I’ve asked Bengaluru East City Corporation (BECC) to form a task force to speed up the work. Officials from all the departments concerned must coordinate and complete the pending works in a time-bound manner,” Rao told TOI.He said several utility-related works were still pending, including those involving BWSSB and Bescom, and identified three major bottlenecks that required urgent intervention. “There are works yet to be taken up by BWSSB, while Bescom is currently shifting utility lines. We’ve also identified critical bottlenecks that need to be addressed so traffic movement can improve,” he said.Lokande Snehal Kumar, additional commissioner of BECC, said the civic body would soon convene a meeting involving all stakeholder agencies. “We’ll be holding a meeting next week. A multi-agency task force will then be constituted to monitor progress and ensure better coordination. Similar mechanisms will also be considered for other major infrastructure projects.”Motorable roads & dust-free commute top priorityApart from the long-term road widening works being executed by Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited, Rao stressed that authorities must immediately focus on improving day-to-day commuting conditions for residents.Having walked the stretch himself, the chief commissioner said several portions of the road were in poor condition, with damaged pedestrian pathways and large potholes creating difficulties for both motorists and walkers. “I noticed several stretches where pedestrians are forced to walk on damaged surfaces. There are also multiple locations with large potholes. These need to be repaired immediately to ensure smooth and safe movement,” Rao said.Dust, another major complaint from residents, also came under scrutiny during the inspection. “There are sections where loose jelly stones have been dumped. We’ve instructed officials to take measures to control dust and make the road more commuter-friendly while the main project continues,” he added.Officials said ongoing pothole-filling works would continue in the coming days to improve driving conditions. “Repair works have already begun from the Varthur Kodi side and KRDCL is carrying out pothole-filling activities. The corporation will extend all necessary support to ensure the works are completed quickly,” Kumar said.The latest intervention comes amid growing pressure on authorities to expedite works on the Varthur-Gunjur corridor, where residents say years of rapid development have far outpaced infrastructure creation, resulting in chronic congestion, damaged roads and increasing commuter hardship.
