Sanjaynagar Main Road work near completion, footpath woes persist for Bengaluru residents

With a new deadline, the whitetopping work on a 2.56-km stretch of Sanjaynagar Main Road, between Nagashettihalli and Ballari Road, has begun to pick up pace. The work is scheduled to be completed by November-end, according to sources in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).

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Meanwhile, pedestrians are struggling as work on the footpath drags on. Started in September 2025, the whitetopping work disrupts traffic on the entire Sanjaynagar Main Road and has paralysed vehicle movement on connecting roads as well. While the traffic situation during the day has improved, haphazard parking along the stretch continues to have an impact on peak-hour traffic.

Pedestrians struggle

On the other hand, at the start of Sanjaynagar Road, after taking a left turn at Ballari Road, the footpaths have been dug up, causing inconvenience to pedestrians.

Shruthi Gowda, a local resident, said that many officegoers who board buses at the Mehkri Circle bus stop walk along the stretch every day, and it is a massive inconvenience that the stretch has been dug up and left as it is for so long.

“For many months, they had dumped the construction material on the footpath, forcing us to walk on the vehicle carriageway. In the evenings, it’s scary to walk on the road with so many vehicles moving, with the problem further compounded by dust,” she said.

Namratha C., another resident, explained that the main road is clogged during peak hours because the stretch houses over 300 commercial establishments, whose customers park their vehicles on the road, which is now compounded by unfinished side-road work and construction materials.

“The road is already small, and haphazard parking makes the situation even worse. The traffic police should survey the stretch and clearly establish parking and no-parking zones here so that, even in the future, traffic movement is smooth,” she said, adding that clearing the existing footpaths would greatly help local residents.

When The Hindu did a reality check, it was observed that construction materials and makeshift shops occupied the footpaths. In some areas, open drains added to the problem. Further, cables, boxes, and pipes have been dumped in the bus stand.

However, residents praised the quality of the work, stating that several waterlogging points had been addressed and the engineers had ensured that trees were not choked with concrete around the base.

To be completed by November-end

An official from the Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE), the agency carrying out the work, stated that whitetopping on a 2.10-km stretch had been completed while work on a 460-metre stretch is in progress. Further, 70% of the footpath work had been completed. All work is likely to be finished by November-end.

“Civic work across the city had slowed down due to disruption in the supply of construction aggregates. Progress has been good on this stretch despite the delay compared to other places,” the officer said.