Stormwater drain work crawls on busy KRS Road near Vani Vilas Water Works; Dasappa Circle continues to be major traffic bottleneck

Mysore/Mysuru: A simple stormwater drain project taken up by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on the busy stretch from Dasappa Circle near the City Railway Station towards KRS Road via Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW) has brought traffic to a crawl for nearly two months, with one side of the road remaining completely shut.

Despite the prolonged disruption, the work continues to drag on with no end in sight.

Daily commuters say traffic snarls on this crucial Central Business District (CBD) stretch have made driving unbearable, forcing motorists into long detours, especially during peak hours.

MCC officials insist the project is essential to prevent flooding and strengthen long-term drainage, but admit the pace of work has been slow and completion is still at least a month away. Until then, the public must “bear with the inconvenience.”

The delay has triggered strong public criticism, with many questioning why a project of this scale is being executed at a snail’s pace without proper traffic management.

Constructing a concrete deck: The MCC is executing works worth Rs. 90 lakh to construct a concrete deck across the road to stop rainwater from flooding the road that links KRS Road to Dasappa Circle, the City Railway Station stretch and the Mandovi Motors Road Under Bridge.

But more than two months after work began, one side of the road between Dasappa Circle and Vani Vilas Water Works remains dug up and closed for traffic. Traffic is squeezed onto the remaining side, worsening bottlenecks.

The concrete deck is intended to channel stormwater from the low-lying Yadavagiri catchment area into the CFTRI campus instead of inundating the main road.

But the delay on one of the busiest roads in the heart of the city — connecting Valmiki Road, KRS Road, Vinoba Road, Irwin Road, the Railway Station, Akashvani Circle, JLB Road and the Sub-Urban Bus Stand — has crippled movement.

KSRTC buses, private vehicles and station-bound traffic all converge here, turning peak hours into chaos as iron barricades force vehicles into narrow detours.

Second phase works next: With barely half the work completed, MCC officials now say the remaining stretch — from Vani Vilas Water Works to Dasappa Circle — will also be closed when the second phase begins.

MCC Executive Engineer Srinivas told Star of Mysore this morning, that the project is likely to be completed only by January 2026, with both sides of the road opening only after Jan. 15.

“We cannot pre-cast concrete exclusively for this project, as there is no provision. We are combining pre-cast works from multiple projects. Pre-cast structures and concrete need time to set, so the work cannot be rushed,” he said.

However, the public has questioned why the MCC needs more than three months to complete what they describe as a simple concrete job, that too on one of the city’s busiest stretches.