Karnataka - Bangalore

Protest against expressway alignment

BANGALORE: Over 500 residents, who will be affected by the proposed expressway connecting the Outer Ring Road and the international airport at Devanahalli, staged a rally here at Challakere on Thursday to protest against the alignment of the road.

They contended that hundreds of residents on the route would lose their livelihood as well as property. The protest, which lasted nearly three hours from 10 a.m., was organised on the Outer Ring Road at Challakere by Devanahalli Airport Highway Victims’ Association to highlight the problems that they would face once the work commences.

M.T. Raja Reddy, a resident of Challakere, said that the authorities had changed the alignment of the proposed international airport a few times, and that the proposal to construct a new expressway through populated areas was illegal. He said the present alignment of the proposed expressway was illegal as it was not according to the Master Plan formed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

He said: “The proposed expressway will result in demolition of structures owned by NGOs such as KRC, Visthar, Accept, Home of Hope and Lizas Home that are sheltering a large number of orphans, sick and old people.” Besides the owners of properties on either side of the expressway will get separated as the proposed expressway is an access controlled tolled road that would force these owners to travel a long distance to reach their property, he added.

The protesters, in a press release, said that instead of constructing a separate expressway to the airport, authorities could build an exclusive elevated or underground expressway on the existing Bangalore-Bellary Highway up to the airport. Apart from widening the existing feeder roads, including Nagawara Road, Hennur Road and Budigere Road, the authorities could also form Peripheral Ring Road and Satellite Town Ring Road immediately the release added.

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