Bengaluru: A Decade After Work Began, Much Delayed Malleswaram Railway Underpass To Be Ready In 15-20 Days

After a decade Malleswaram residents will heave a sigh of relief as the construction of the railway underpass at Srirampuram, is expected to be completed within a fortnight, the New Indian Express reports.

The construction of the underpass near Sampige road began ten years ago before being halted two years ago because of the land dispute between a real estate company and the South Western Railway (SWR).

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that it expects the work to be completed within the next 15 to 20 days. Back in 2008, the BBMP had deposited Rs one crore to the SWR to execute the project on railway land.

Gopal Rao, a member of the Malleswaram Resident Welfare Association (RWA), said, “We are helpless because there is politics involved in this. As per BBMP reports, the area belonging to the real estate company is 13 acres out of 23 acres in total, but they had encroached all of it including the railway land.”

Ramaswamy N V, another resident who took part in the protest last year, shared a similar view while adding that no government official stepped up to resolve the issue.

BBMP executive engineer and project in-charge, Malatesh said the real estate company halted the project claiming the underpass road falls in their land and it took a long time to convince them to lay a path for public use on their property. The work finally began in March last year after getting the clearance.

“The work is almost completed, and the shifting of transformers is done. Grating the road too is almost completed, and only asphalting is required now,” he said.