The civic body’s real problem came when commuters started using the freshly white 2 km stretch between Balagere T. Cross and Panathur RUB before the curing period was completed. | Photo credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
The white-roofed roads, meant to offer a smoother commute to the citizens of Bengaluru, have instead turned into a battleground between the East City Corporation and the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP).
For more than a month now, several neighborhoods in East Bengaluru, especially around Balagere, have been gridlocked during peak hours, leaving commuters with very few road options. Primary reason: closure of key stretch for ongoing white coating work on Panathur Road.
Since the first week of October, the entire section, including all entrances from connecting roads, has been barricaded by BTP. Although planned to reopen on November 1, the deadline was missed. In addition, more than five roads within a 10 km radius of this key stretch are also closed for similar works.
Traffic congestion on Panathur Road has forced commuters, especially during peak hours, to look for any possible alternative routes, the latest being the mud that has gone viral on social media, which is not even a proper road.
Problem and blame game
The civic body’s real problem came when commuters started using the freshly white 2 km stretch between Balagere T. Cross and Panathur RUB before the curing period was completed. Road workers moved roadblocks, removed security fences and started using the road early.
Frustrated by this, the East City Corporation wrote to the Whitefield Traffic Police saying: “If the road suffers damage or deteriorates before the end of the Defects Liability Period (DLP), BTP must take responsibility as vehicles were using the stretch.”
In response, BTP said: “We have regulated traffic, but the flat dwellers continue to use the lane. We are responsible for regulating traffic, not quality assurance.”
Defense
An engineer from East City Corporation explained that the quality of white-surfaced roads depends not only on the quality of laying, but also on effective curing. “Without proper curing, when vehicles use the road, the pressure affects the quality of the surface. Civic body work is often labeled as poor, and if this road deteriorates, we’ll be blamed even after we’ve done our part,” said the engineer.
A senior police officer told The Hindu that while the BTP had blocked the main road with barricades, smaller connecting roads from nearby flats caused the problem. “There are more than five apartment complexes along the stretch whose residents have no other routes due to poor connectivity. When the white-lining work got delayed, they became frustrated and started removing barricades to use the road,” the officer explained.
“We can only deploy officers on the main drag, not at every residential road. Quality engineers from the civic association are present daily and could restrict movement, but they expect us to,” he added.
This problem would not have arisen at all if there was better coordination between the civic parastatals, which was the very reason why the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the smaller corporation were created. The delay in replenishment of white is primarily due to last minute work undertaken by Bescom and KPTCL. The event also highlights the consequences of poor road network, a persistent problem in areas outside the Outer Ring Road, the Bengaluru Technical Corridor.
Published – 11 Nov 2025 20:58 IST
