Bengaluru Hennur flyover opens today

Bengaluru: The Hennur flyover will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, but residents claim that though the pace has picked up over the last week, various works are still pending and it is unlikely that the flyover will be open for public for immediate use. The construction of Hennur flyover which was hanging fire for since 2009 is nearing completion after eight long years. 

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) officials, however, said that most of the works, except for a few minor ones, will be completed by Saturday night. A senior BDA officer said, “One side of the ramp has been asphalted, while the other will be completed by Saturday. The medians and lights are also being fixed. We aim to finish all the works by Saturday night and get it ready for the inauguration. The project began in 2009, but was stopped due to land acquisition problems. It resumed again in 2016, but it came to a halt as the land problem persisted. In 2017, it was resolved and in November, the work restarted and now we have almost reached the finishing stage.”

On the flyover being thrown open to the public, he said, "We were directed by officials from the top to complete majority of the works by Saturday. We have no idea when it can be opened for public. Our aim is to finish everything by Saturday, and if there are pending works, we will ensure that they are completed within a couple of days.” But Hennur residents claimed that it is far from completion. “Officials might have completed the major construction work, but minor works, like laying the median, filling up of gaps in the parapet wall, lighting and many more, are still pending. It will need at least a week to finish it.”

Nadia Zackria, a resident of Hennur, said that the work has been going on in full swing for the last four to five days. “Now, we hear that the flyover will be inaugurated on Sunday by the chief minister. We don’t think it can be opened for immediate use as there are more works pending. They might just inaugurate it, but it will take some more time for the completion,” she said. Joseph Simon Paul, a resident of HBR Layout, said that it was surprising that the works have been taken up day and night over the last few days just for the sake of inauguration. “Why the same enthusiasm was not shown when the construction began in 2009? It would have helped thousands of people who use the stretch every day. It is only after the public protested, the work was taken up. Looking at the way the work has picked up pace, we think the work might not be of great quality and durable. BDA officials claim that they will complete the work by Saturday night, but that is highly impossible. It is far from completion and ready to use.”