BENGALURU: The multi-crore Varthur village elevated corridor project, which was supposed to ease traffic on the stretch that connects Sarjapur Road/Electronics City and Whitefield/Kempegowda International Airport, remains on the drawing board because of alleged political interference and multiple plan revisions.
The project, mooted by Karnataka Road Development Corporation, envisaged a 1.3km-long, 60ft-wide elevated road from Varthur tank bund to Varthur police station. Incidentally, the state cabinet on Thursday extended the corridor length to 1.9km.
The project was formally proposed on May 20, 2019, and supposed to be completed by June 2024.
KRDCL chief engineer R Prasad said: “This elevated road will cover Varthur village and ease traffic flow in the tech corridor.”
Though the corridor is much required, what has raised the red flag is the timing. It is being proposed in the run-up to the civic polls and comes at a time when the image of elected representatives has taken a beating because of poor road infrastructure. With most tech firms getting ready to start work-from-office after the third wave of Covid subsides, traffic obstructions are bound to increase frustration levels among vehicle users.
“The elevated corridor should have been completed five years ago, but they are thinking about it now. When will they start work and when will it be completed?” asked the office-bearers of resident welfare associations dotting the road even as officials maintained the initial pile load testing work is under way.
Though sceptical about the project completion time, residents are enthused about the elevated corridor. “Varthur has many educational institutions and tech parks surrounding it. An elevated corridor will ease traffic congestion,” said Chaitanya Prabhu, a resident. Gunjur resident Hemanth Kumar said: “The current traffic flow is high and with increasing population, Varthur is likely to become a major choke point.”
