Taxpayers’ money down the drain on Vishwamanava Double Road

Mysuru: The bicycle track on Vishwamanava Double Road in Mysuru has been dismantled to make way for the ongoing white-topping works, drawing criticism from residents who have questioned the waste of taxpayers’ money.

The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) had constructed 8.72 km of bicycle tracks at various locations across the city at a cost of Rs. 3,65,60,000 to encourage cycling and promote eco-friendly transport.

However, the track on Vishwamanava Double Road has now been removed as part of the road works. Retro-reflective delineators had been installed along the stretch from Kanakadasa Circle to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Circle to ensure the safety of cyclists, particularly at night.

But soon after Dasara, when white-topping work began, Public Works Department officials removed the delineators using JCB machines.

The removed delineators have been left scattered along the road instead of being properly cleared. The nuts and bolts used to fix them are still embedded in the road, causing inconvenience and posing a hazard to motorists, residents complained.

The dedicated cycling track concept was first proposed in Mysuru in 2012, with plans to reserve three to five feet of road space exclusively for cyclists and mark the lanes in yellow. The first such track was developed in front of the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) on Lalitha Mahal Road.

In June 2017, the city introduced the public bicycle-sharing system, ‘Trin Trin’, to encourage people to take up cycling. The initiative, however, is also being discontinued from today (Oct. 31), marking the end of another effort to promote green mobility in Mysuru.

Why white-topping on a good road?

Former Mayor Shivakumar, however, questioned the need for white-topping on the road, which he said was already in good condition up to Dattagalli. He alleged that crores of rupees are being spent on an already well-maintained road while several damaged roads in the city are in urgent need of repairs.