The busy Nrupatunga Road, which citizens use to reach the regional office of the Reserve Bank of India, was thrown open to the public on Monday.
The road was closed in February for TenderSURE work. Initially, the BBMP planned to cut 18 trees along the road for constructing footpaths, but following protests, the agency changed the road design to avoid cutting trees.
While the main carriageway had been thrown open to vehicles, concreting of the bus bay would take another 10 days, said N. Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, BBMP.
Regarding the issue of several TenderSURE roads in the city being dug up by agencies contrary to claims that the roads would not need to be touched for decades, he said, “We take written consent from all utility agencies. If they are dug up, it would be a few isolated incidents.”
Relief to Cubbon Park
The opening of Nrupathunga Road means calm will return to Cubbon Park, albeit a few days late. Ever since the arterial road was closed on February 26, traffic from K.R. Circle to Hudson Circle was diverted via Cubbon Park.
"The gates at Cubbon Park, which were open 24 hours due to the diversion, will be closed between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. from Monday night onwards. Sundays and second Saturdays will become vehicle-free again," said Mahantesh Murgod, Deputy Director, Cubbon Park.
The diversion had resulted in the number of vehicles plying inside Cubbon Park nearly doubling to two lakh per day, leading to an increase in light and noise pollution. Mr. Murgod had written to the BBMP to speed up work on Nrupathunga Road.
"Now that we will revert to the old system, we expect a lot of birds, that had left the park due to the noise, to return. Morning walkers too can enjoy the old calm. As for the plants, we have been watering them using sprinklers. The rains in June and July should reverse any damage," he added.
The road was closed in February for TenderSURE work. Initially, the BBMP planned to cut 18 trees along the road for constructing footpaths, but following protests, the agency changed the road design to avoid cutting trees.
While the main carriageway had been thrown open to vehicles, concreting of the bus bay would take another 10 days, said N. Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, BBMP.
Regarding the issue of several TenderSURE roads in the city being dug up by agencies contrary to claims that the roads would not need to be touched for decades, he said, “We take written consent from all utility agencies. If they are dug up, it would be a few isolated incidents.”
Relief to Cubbon Park
The opening of Nrupathunga Road means calm will return to Cubbon Park, albeit a few days late. Ever since the arterial road was closed on February 26, traffic from K.R. Circle to Hudson Circle was diverted via Cubbon Park.
"The gates at Cubbon Park, which were open 24 hours due to the diversion, will be closed between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. from Monday night onwards. Sundays and second Saturdays will become vehicle-free again," said Mahantesh Murgod, Deputy Director, Cubbon Park.
The diversion had resulted in the number of vehicles plying inside Cubbon Park nearly doubling to two lakh per day, leading to an increase in light and noise pollution. Mr. Murgod had written to the BBMP to speed up work on Nrupathunga Road.
"Now that we will revert to the old system, we expect a lot of birds, that had left the park due to the noise, to return. Morning walkers too can enjoy the old calm. As for the plants, we have been watering them using sprinklers. The rains in June and July should reverse any damage," he added.