BENGALURU: Technology companies on the IT corridor have rejected the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) request to allow work from home for its employees to facilitate completion of infrastructure work on the Outer Ring Road.
In order to reduce traffic pressure and speed up the work like white-topping of Outer Ring Road, the GBA had requested companies in this area to implement 50:50 work from home starting October. But the companies have not accepted the request stating that it is not possible now.
Traffic is the biggest problem among the many issues that have existed in this area for many years. This area frequently makes news because of traffic congestion. To improve the roads in this area, the GBA has decided to undertake white-topping on 20 km of road in this stretch. Preparations have also been made to start the work from October.
With work set to begin, the GBA had requested 50:50 work from home for companies in this area to reduce congestion and speed up the work. But now companies have decided that Work From Home is not possible as per GBA’s request. In the association meeting, company heads said that work from home is not possible as it will slow down company work. They expressed the opinion not to agree to GBA’s request.
Reasons behind association’s decision
- It will be difficult to complete the work within the time GBA has planned.
- In most parts of the city, GBA has not completed work within the stated time.
- If the same situation happens here, once work starts companies will have to continue work from home for much longer with no other option. This will impact the companies’ work.
- Since there is Metro work on the route, it is doubtful that the work will be completed on time.
The main reason for the Association’s decision is lack of trust in the GBA. They are backing out due to concern that GBA’s delay tactics in work will create problems. The association has also put forward a few suggestions. Mainly, their opinion is that if work in this area starts after November, vehicle movement will gradually be less during that time. Along with that, the association’s opinion is that if the service road is cleared first and then work is started, and if work is done in a phased manner, there will be less trouble. It has been decided to inform GBA about this in a meeting.
To solve the problem, one of the two parties will have to give in. In the next meeting, a consensus decision will be arrived at. It remains to be seen if the tech companies cooperate in execution of the work along with managing traffic pressure.
