Potholes and rough patches dot the Outer Ring Road stretch from Marathahalli to Bellandur, leading to waterlogging during the rains and making it accident-prone to commuters, including pedestrians.
Published Apr 10, 2025 | 1:07 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 10, 2025 | 1:07 PM
Potholes and rough patches dot the Outer Ring Road stretch from Marathahalli to Bellandur.
Synopsis: Potholes are Bengaluru’s perennial problem. Two teenagers have started an online petition demanding better, safer roads. Local residents, too, have joined in, prompting authorities to offer a short-term solution. However, the stretch between Marathahalli and Bellandur deserves a better treatment — and a lasting solution.
Two teenagers have started an online petition demanding the authorities to repair roads near Mantri Espana, Kariyammana Agrahara, and Bellandur in Southeast Bengaluru.
Anushka Bharggav and Sriya Gummadi, who started the petition, said the roads have been in a state of disrepair for more than a year.
Potholes and rough patches dot the Outer Ring Road stretch from Marathahalli to Bellandur, leading to waterlogging during the rains and making it accident-prone to commuters, including pedestrians. A major artery of Bengaluru, thousands of people commute on the stretch daily.
Raes, a supermarket owner at Devarabeesanahalli, said accidents were a common occurrence on the stretch that has been neglected for the past two years. He alleged that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had not taken up any repair work.
The road has been posing a constant threat to the nearby Little Millennium School’s students and their parents. Raes said there were instances of children falling off two-wheelers hitting the potholes.
Bharggav and Gummadi launched the online petition on 3 March to make the BBMP realise the seriousness of the issue, highlighting the threat that the broken stretch has been posing.
Potholes pose a danger to motorists and pedestrians.
“What is alarming about the potholes is that the bikers, while avoiding the potholes, ride close to the pedestrians, making them vulnerable to risks,” Gummadi said.
Bharggav added that ambulances and emergency service vehicles were often slowed down or caught in snarls on the stretch, especially near the Sakra World Hospital at Devarabeesanahalli.
“The situation is especially dangerous for senior citizens, pregnant women, children, and patients travelling to and from Sakra Hospital — where timely medical access is critical,” Bharggav and Gummadi said in the petition.
Karim, a tailor in the locality, said the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) started digging the roads to lay pipes to address the water shortage three months ago.
“The road’s condition worsened ever since the BWSSB dug it up,” he said, adding that the BBMP should step in before the road further deteriorated.
Speaking to South First, a few residents of Mantri Espana at Marathahalli said the government has turned a blind eye towards the road’s condition and their plight.
They alleged that the negligence amounted to violating Article 21 of the Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right to protection of life. The residents added that a lack of footpath further complicated the situation.
The people also aired their concern over the authorities ignoring their basic necessity despite collecting taxes.
“Those living in Mantri Espana and neighboring areas are deeply distressed. Despite repeated pleas, the BBMP has done nothing. Staging protests are the only option left,” Nalini, a resident said.
The residents staged a protest on 5 March and followed it up with another one five days later. “We need roads,” the placards they held screamed, seeking the authorities’ attention to Kariyammana Agrahara, and Bellandur areas.
Fed up with the continuing neglect, the residents took up the issue with Mahadevapura’s former MLA Arvind Limbavali. The former minister took up the issue with the BBMP and BWSSB. It led to an overnight patchwork of the road.
Manjula Limbavali, the MLA now representing Mahadevapura, said only patchwork could be carried out on the stretch due to the ongoing construction of a stormwater drain.
BBMP added that the road could be concreted only after BWSSB completed the drain project.
Meanwhile, the authorities asphalted the roads at Kariyammana Agrahara, bringing respite to commuters.
Residents appreciated the brief respite but expressed doubt that the concreting work would be taken up without delay. They demanded the civic authorities to coordinate better between departments to avoid prolonged inconvenience — and the associated dangers — in the future.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
