Bangalore: Work on the 340-metre underpass at Ramamurthy Nagar and Banaswadi junction on the Outer Ring Road, taken up by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), has been stalled for the past 45 days because of problems with land acquisition.

BDA officials say that they need about 360 sq ft of land on either side of Ramamurthy Nagar main road. But the land belongs to the Railways and it is hesitant to give the land to the BDA, they say.

The reason the Railways has cited is that it had given a portion of its land to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) at Shivajinagar for a development project but has not received an alternative land yet, a BDA official said on the condition of anonymity. The Railways has expressed fears that this could be case with the BDA too, the official has said.

When contacted, Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Mangal said that talks were on to resolve the issue. "It will be sorted out soon," he said.

However, Mr. Mangal did not say whether the BDA would be given the land it required.

Traffic diversion

As a result, work has been stalled at the busy junction. Only 25 per cent of the work has been completed. Diversion of traffic has caused hardship to road users.

One part of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), initially meant for traffic from Hebbal to Krishnarajapuram, has been dug up.

That traffic has been diverted onto the right side of the Outer Ring Road. Traffic from Krishnarajapuram towards Hebbal has been diverted onto the Banaswadi service road.

Assistant Executive Engineer Devaraj said, "If we try to allow vehicles on the remaining part of the Outer Ring Road and the Banaswadi service road, we are left with only seven feet of road for traffic both ways," he said. Traffic would be chaotic as many trucks passed through this road, he said.

The Rs. 17.5-crore project is scheduled to be completed by April 2007.

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