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An underpass to nowhere at Kanteerava Studio junction in Bengaluru
With an aim to make ORR signal-free, the Bangalore Development Authority was tasked with building a flyover and an underpass at the Kanteerava Studio junction
The flyover at Kanteerava Studio junction on Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
The mouth of a half-finished underpass at the crucial Kanteerava Studio junction on Outer Ring Road (ORR) is now closed with mud to prevent motorists from going into what seems like a tunnel to nowhere. This measure was taken as the structure can potentially turn into a death trap when it rains. While the underpass has a down ramp from the Tumakuru Road side, it doesn’t come up at the other end in front of Kanteerava Studio owing to land acquisition tangles. This has been the status for at least five years now.
“Earlier, the underpass down ramp was left open, and we have seen multiple unsuspecting motorists drive into the pit. There were a few accidents as well. A few years ago, civic officials closed the entrance of the pit to prevent motorists going into it,” said Siddaraju, an attendant at a petrol bunk near the circle.
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With an aim to make ORR signal-free, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) was tasked with building a flyover and an underpass at the Kanteerava Studio junction, just a few metres away from the memorial to matinee idol Rajkumar and his son Puneeth Rajkumar.
The BDA gave a “turn-key” contract for the civil works at a cost of ₹47.47 crore in 2016. While there was no need for land acquisition for the flyover, the agency marked 20,000 sqm of a total of 43 properties on the Kanteerava Studio side for acquisition for the underpass.
The work on the flyover was completed in 2019 and opened to the public. By then, the contractor had completed work on one arm of the underpass, which did not require any land acquisition. However, the BDA had not acquired the required land to finish work on the other arm. It hasn’t been done till date and the project is stuck.
The project ran into troubles with land acquisition as the estimated cost when the project started was ₹37 crore, but property owners did not agree with the compensation amount. BDA sources said that there were multiple proposals considered, including giving alternative sites to land losers.
“In 2020, the State Government even asked the BDA to hand over the project to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). But in 2022, the BDA board decided to finish the project and to provide cash compensation to land losers. Now, the estimated cost of land acquisition has risen to ₹80 crore. Of the 43 properties to be acquired, we have given compensation to owners of eight properties, acquired them, and demolished a few buildings. We are in the process of acquiring other properties. Once that is completed, the underpass project will be completed,” a senior BDA official said.
Till then, motorists have to navigate a circuitous route at the junction, joining ORR and then taking an immediate detour to join the road at the opposite end of the circle instead of a straight road. This often causes traffic snarls and chaos at the key junction.
“This stretch of the ORR is such a mess. There are bottlenecks at Hebbal junction, then Goraguntepalya junction followed by the Kanteerava junction, if one takes the service road. Further down the stretch, there is another bottleneck at Hosakerehalli junction,” said Avinash K., a techie who takes the stretch of ORR every day.
Now, the BDA plans to extend the length of the underpass by at least 20 metres, which is expected to result in an additional cost of ₹4 crore. However, this extension will not need acquisition of more land, BDA officials said.
(This is the third in a series on long-pending infrastructure projects in Bengaluru)
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