Bengaluru: Following heavy rains and lake breaches, traffic on the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway is frequently coming to a standstill, forcing the traffic Police at Ramanagara to divert the vehicular traffic through Kanakapura and Malavalli.

In a tweet this morning, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) advised people not to take the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway but opt for alternative routes.

Kumaraswamy, who is also the Ramanagara MLA, visited many flood-affected areas this morning and assessed the situation. He assured the residents that he will discuss it with the authorities and try for speedy compensation. He has been touring various villages that have been affected and directed the officers to distribute food kits to the stranded population.

The former CM said that the paltry compensation paid by the State Government of Rs. 3,000 per household was not enough. “I will talk to the Government to increase the compensation to Rs. 10,000 and I will also make arrangements for relief from the JD(S),” he added.

Reacting to the hardship being faced by the people and commuters on the road where over 8,000 crore has been spent, Kumaraswamy termed the road works as unscientific. “This is one of Karnataka’s most expensive road projects and many stretches of the highway, especially the service roads, have been completely inundated a couple of times in the last month. This is a classic case of poor drainage facilities,” he told reporters yesterday in Bengaluru.

“The true condition of the much-touted and much-publicised Highway is getting exposed only after the rains. Thankfully, now the road has gotten exposed even before completion. It is high time the authorities fix the loopholes so that there will be no waterlogging on the highway in the future,” he said.

“When I was Chief Minister of Karnataka, I had taken measures to fast-track the project. Now, it is for the Centre to take corrective steps. I am visiting New Delhi on Sept. 5 and raising the issue of poor quality of road works with the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. For the last month, we have been getting reports of the highway being flooded, which is a classic example of unscientific construction,” he added.