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DUSTination known
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Hriday Ram Shenoy is fed up with one of Bangalore's most notorious stretches
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Hriday Ram Shenoy: `You immediately shift to second gear and begin crawling at snail's pace, all the while hurling imprecations into the air.'
IT IS a bright, sunny afternoon and you are travelling comfortably. But for the occasional traffic light, you have maintained commendable speed and you already have a smile on your lips thinking of all the goodies awaiting you for reaching office early — a cup or two of freshly brewed coffee, an update on all the gossip you missed and, of course, parking at the most convenient spot.
You are abruptly shaken out of this reverie by a series of sharp jolts. Your entire vehicle is rattling uncontrollably and the steering wheel suddenly appears to suffer from a bout of intense convulsions.
You notice the state of the road ahead and are appalled by its condition. Instead of the familiarly benign tar, all you see is a cruel stretch of mud road, peppered with dangerously oversized pebbles. The bumpy ride reminds you of the Martian surface you saw on Discovery Channel, but where on Earth? You take a look at the dust-covered signboards of the nearby shops and suddenly realise you're on 80 Ft. Road, Koramangala.
You immediately shift to second gear and begin crawling at snail's pace, all the while hurling imprecations into the air... that is predominantly dust, actually. You resolve never to take this road again.
The restaurateurs along the road lament that they have lost 50 per cent of their business and despite the party season, their registers record no bookings. Try convincing the autorickshaw drivers to take a metered trip to 80 Ft. Road and three out of four of them will utter a laconic "Baralla".
Even after a protest march, the authorities have turned a blind eye to the sufferers' woes. The last bureaucrat who visited the area promised progress in three months; but nine months have lapsed since his visit.
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