Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda orders KRDCL to fix SH-35 within three months, provide immediate relief to commuters

Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Wednesday (September 30) revealed that the government may explore a Metro connection between Dommasandra and Hope Farm in the future while inspecting State Highway-35 and surrounding stretches on the eastern fringes of the city.

The Minister inspected the stretch following recurring complaints, including an incident earlier this month in which schoolchildren were stuck in traffic for more than two hours.

Mr. Gowda directed the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) to fix SH-35 and surrounding stretches within two to three months, while stressing the need to plan road works keeping future Metro expansion and other transport projects in mind.

He acknowledged that several connecting roads to SH-35 are narrower and could pose a greater congestion threat in the coming years. Mr. Gowda particularly ordered the fixing of the Sarjapur Road–Dommasandra–Gunjur–Varthur–Balagere corridor within two to three months.

During an inspection of the corridor and surrounding areas, Mr. Gowda reviewed road works, drainage, traffic management, land acquisition, electricity infrastructure, and other civic works.

Start work

Considering the substantial traffic load on the stretch after Varthur Kodi, the Minister directed officials to at least start work where land acquisition for road widening has been completed.

“Even where the land is already acquired, there is debris. Clear debris, fill potholes, and damage stretches to make it motarable,” he told KRDCL.

Near the Varthur Lake bund, where two roads converge, Mr. Gowda noticed that no work had been carried out despite land being available. He lashed out at the engineer and directed that work be started immediately. Further, he pointed out that several establishments between Gunjur and Dommasandra had allegedly encroached upon more than eight feet of roadside space and sought action against such encroachments. He also reprimanded officials for allowing the encroachments to take place.

He further directed officials to identify and address waterlogging points and traffic bottlenecks immediately. However, both these issues are connected to narrow interior roads, and repairing the main stretch alone would not help solve the problem. Mr. Gowda also asked officials to examine drainage connections, improve junctions and road curves, and make better use of available road space.

He directed Bescom officials to relocate transformers and electricity poles obstructing roads, particularly those located at road curves. “Remove unused poles and relocate the transformers wherever they are obstructing smooth flow of vehicles,” he said.