Smart City’s CC road work halted, motorists inconvenienced

Hubballi: A cement concrete road built under the Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Project from Dollar Colony to Keshav Kunj in Hubballi remains incomplete. Encroachments have halted its progress, leaving the stretch in poor condition and posing risks to commuters.
The road is in bad shape and has deteriorated, causing inconvenience for motorists. The road work started in 2021 but has been left unfinished due to a lack of coordination between Smart City and HDMC. Since 2023, work on the left side of the road has not been carried out. During construction, about 10 encroached shelters were on the roadside, due to which the work remains incomplete.
Residents of Kotilinga, Vasavi Nagar, Rajendra Nagar, and other areas are finding it hard to ride two-wheelers on the stretch. According to sources, the road comes under HDMC's Ward No. 52. A small portion of the road was encroached, about 150 metres. Some shelters were built along the roadside. About 1 km of road was constructed, and a stretch of about 150 metres was left unfinished. Smart City wrote several letters to HDMC seeking to clear the encroachment and provide proper alignment for the construction of the remaining road portion.
Motorist Venkatesh Bailur said that the road has completely deteriorated, causing problems especially for the movement of two-wheelers. He urged the authorities to construct the remaining portion of the road.
Shankarappa Mundargi, a resident of Vasavi Nagar, said that some portions of the road were encroached earlier, but they have been cleared now. The authorities concerned have not completed the road work. Smart City is blaming HDMC, and HDMC is blaming Smart City authorities. Now, the drainage water is also flowing out onto the road, leaving residents worried," he said and demanded that this problem be solved soon.
Chandrasekhar Malipatil, assistant commissioner, HDMC Zone 7, said that Smart City was supposed to complete the work, but it was not done. "However, HDMC will construct the remaining portion of the road. An estimation has been drawn, and the work will be taken up soon," he assured.