Remodelling of VV Puram Food Street almost complete, but locals wary of increased public menace

BENGALURU: The popular Food Street near Sajjan Rao Circle in VV Puram is a favourite among Bengalureans. But the street had lost its charm over the past several months due to delays in construction work. Now that the work have been completed, the countdown for the inauguration has begun. But, the local residents are opposed to opening of the Food Street.

Speaking about the renovation work, Chickpet MLA Uday Garudachar, said, “The  renovation work on Food Street has been going on for more than a year. Some last-minute makeover work is going on and the work related to drainage, water supply and rainwater drain, cable ducts and chambers have already been completed at a cost of Rs 5 crore. Now the work on fixing tiles and granite is going on”. The MLA is all set to inaugurate the road on August 15.

Now, some local residents are complaining about the renovated Food Street. They claim that they have faced a lot of problems earlier and are questioning the MLA how they can live there, as it is a residential area. “The Food Street has been there for many years and people come here from many parts of the city. People create a ruckus here till 2 or 3 am. Some drunk people also create scenes. Now that the road is renovated, the problem will increase further”, they said.

The locals are demanding that time limits be set for for the public and to increase the police beat. They also requested the authorities not to allow parking on both sides of the road and warned of holding protest if same problems continue.

Meanwhile, the long-pending project of white-topping work at Gandhi Bazaar Market too is almost in its final phase and workers are laying tiles on the road. But street vendors and the Basavanagudi Traders Association on Saturday staged a protest on the road displaying slogans that the beauty of the locality is bein ruined in the name of  the Smart City project. The protesters shouted slogans against BBMP officials and the local MLA for cheating street vendors and traders.

The protesters expressed outrage over the construction of an ‘unscientific’ stretch on the road, which was popular for traditional items during festivals. This may cause traffic issues due to the construction as 75 per cent of the space is taken over for the footpath. They alleged that the entire road has been damaged due to the white-topping and that the road has lost its traditional look.

The traders are blaming the unscientific design, saying that it will affect their business, and are angry that the square foot area of the road has been reduced and the footpath space has been increased.

The traders alleged that if they share their problems with MLA Uday Garudachar, they get not response. The road work in Basavanagudi has been going on for the past six months.