Work under way on Churuch Street on Monday. | Photo Credit: k. bhagya prakash
Church Street was closed to traffic on Monday and this will continue for a week, as a private non-profit organisation, which has adopted the maintenance of the road for two years, has taken up repair works.
Several traders are upset with the move and fear any prolonged closure will hit their business which, they say, has already taken a hit. Meanwhile, activists have also questioned the civic body entrusting the maintenance of the road to a private entity for two years.
UnboxingBLR Foundation, a city-based non-profit organisation, has adopted Church Street for two years under the Namma Bengaluru, Namma Koduge scheme of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), sources said.
In a statement, the foundation said it “aims to beautify and give infrastructural overhaul of Church Street. It will address road and footpath repairs, upgrade streetlights, improve garbage disposal and drainage, and add ornamental greenery”. It has also adopted Richmond Road and Vittal Mallya Road and works will be taken up on these roads subsequently, sources said.
BBMP Zonal Commissioner Snehal R. said that following a MoU with the foundation, the civic body had given administrative approval for maintenance. “A private agency which is part of UnboxingBLR will be executing the repair work. As the agency will be spending money from its pockets, the BBMP will save about ₹3 crore,” she said.
BBMP giving up maintenance opposed
Vinay Sreenivasa, member of Karnataka Pragatipara Beedi Vyaparigala Sanghatane, said it was the civic body’s responsibility to maintain all streets in the city and entrusting that to any private entity is “not acceptable”. He demanded that the BBMP should come clean on the project and disclose the terms and conditions of the MoU. The BBMP is yet to make any official statement on the project.
“In the absence of a formal communication from the civic body on the MoU, there are fears of private administration of public commons. We have had examples of urban commons like parks being adopted by RWAs and imposing their own rules, which led to exclusion in these public spaces. While we do not oppose any private investment for interventions to make the life on the street better, we will oppose handing over the maintenance of a street to a private entity,” he said.
Traders fear prolonged closure
Traders on Church Street have been informed that the road will be closed to traffic for six to seven days. However, many fear that the closure may be prolonged.
Krishna Gowda, of Bookworm, said that any interventions on the road should be completed in a short time and any prolonged closure would hit their business badly.
Gururaj, a owner of a restaurant, said closure means the business will go down drastically. “For the past one-and-a-half months, the business has seen a lull and the revenue has slid by at least 30%. This will further go down this week. As there are no sufficient parking spaces on nearby roads, the people will not show any interest to visit the area. The road was fine and there was no necessity for revamping it,” he said. The Hindu had reported on falling footfall and business on Church Street recently.
Malini Goyal, co-founder, UnboxingBLR Foundation, said that at present they were focusing on repair and fixing civic issues on the road. In the second phase, they will focus on beautification and horticultural interventions. “We will plan more interventions for the facelift of the stretch over a period and implement the same in a phased manner,” she said.
Published – November 19, 2024 07:00 am IST
