Six months on, white-topping work crawls on Indiranagar 6th Main

A 600-metre stretch of 6th Main in Indiranagar has remained unfinished nearly six months after white-topping work began, slowing traffic on a road that was taken up to make movement easier between 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road. 

Residents say the work, which moved quickly at first, has slowed to a crawl, leaving parts of the road dug up, drains open and connecting roads blocked. The resulting congestion is now spilling into residential areas, while shops along the stretch say their business has gone down. From the 100 Feet Road side, the stretch is blocked to vehicles and can be accessed only by pedestrians. Roads inside the area too remain blocked. 

“Initially, the roads were dug up and people did not prefer coming or going because going back became difficult, particularly while accessing autos and cabs. But for how long one can avoid routine works? Now even accessing grocery stores, the petrol bunk and other essentials has become a challenge,” said Naresh D’Mello, president of the Defence Colony Residents Association (DECORA).

The entire residential area from Defence Colony towards 8th Main has been affected, he said. “Even walking is dangerous and at one’s own peril. If you take a vehicle, it is at the wear and tear of your vehicle,” he lamented. 

“For each such work, residents should be communicated about the deadline, contractor’s details and the civic agency. The work looks nowhere near completion, but residents have no idea whom to even ask,” Mr. D’Mello argued. 

For those trying to get to 80 Feet Road, commuters said autos have been charging as least ₹150 extra for the detour, while spending additional distance each day. 

Pravar of Bengawalk, which works on urban design, public transport and public spaces, said the slow pace of work was also a concern given the plans being discussed for the stretch. “It’s been six months since work started on 6th Main, and it is going extremely slow. There’s been no update from the authorities on when it will be done. Now the same people are talking about building a flyover here as part of the elevated corridor proposals. It’s going to damage this neighbourhood and not fix traffic,” he argued. 

The delay has also affected shops along the stretch. Ashok, who runs a grocery store on 9th Main, said both customers and deliveries had been affected. “The roads are dug up so we can neither do the deliveries, neither can customers come in. In these many months, people have found alternatives and business is experiencing losses. Nobody knows when it will be done, but not anytime soon,” he said, pointing to the open drains and dug-up road. 

B-SMILE Technical Director B.S. Prahalad was not available for comment.