Weeks after waterlogged images of Commercial Street in Bengaluru went viral, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka has said that officials have been instructed to direct the contractor to redevelop the road by September, which will be at the contractor’s own expense. The contractor will also have to maintain the road for the next three years. The colour of the tiles used for the flooring had faded, less than a month after pictures of the street’s cobblestone makeover went viral.

Ashoka visited Commercial Street, which is being developed under the Bengaluru Smart City project to conduct an inspection, following several complaints regarding the quality of the road.

Speaking to media persons, Ashoka said no extra money will be spent on the project. As per a statement, Ashoka said measures will be taken so that rainwater does not flow into the shops, and instructions have been given to redevelop the road as soon as possible into a model road.

He said the Bengaluru Smart City project has taken up the redevelopment of 450-meter-long Commercial Street road at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore. He said that apart from the tiles being replaced, the crossroads adjacent to Commercial Street will also be redeveloped.

MP PC Mohan, MLA Rizwan Arshad, BBMP Administrator Rakesh Singh, Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, East Zone Commissioner Manoj Jain, Smart City Managing Director Rajendra Cholan, East Zone Joint Commissioner Pallavi, Zonal Chief Engineer Prabhakar, Smart City Chief Engineer Prahlad and other officials also accompanied Ashoka.

The beautification project was commissioned in 2019 under the Smart City project in order to make the street more pedestrian friendly so that footfall can increase and aid business. Work began in May 2020 but was delayed several times.

Soon after pictures of the makeover went viral, Bengaluru witnessed rains and visuals showed damaged footpaths and waterlogging on Commercial Street, where cobblestones had dislodged and water was seen gushing out of a pipe from the footpath.

With IANS inputs