Infrastructure Upgrade Comes at a Cost for Bengaluru Businesses

Bengaluru's infrastructure is given a substantial boost by the current white topping of many roads, the project has unknowingly cast a shadow on the city's businesses. Shopkeepers across the city are reporting heavy financial losses since there are long-term road closures and severely limited access to their shops. The ambitious project aimed at making roads more durable and pedestrian-friendly is receiving mounting criticism from the trade community as their daily revenues crash.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been in high gear with white topping – a process of laying concrete on top of existing asphalt roads in hopes of extending their life and reducing the maintenance burden. While citizens are willing to accept the long-term benefit of better infrastructure, the short-term impact on business on these roads has been catastrophic. Closures, diversion, and availability of construction material have severely impacted customer traffic.

Merchants in areas where white topping is being applied report experiencing a sharp drop in sales of 30% to as high as 70% in the most affected instances. Walk-in businesses such as restaurants, retail shops, and service stations are the hardest hit.

The BBMP has spoken of the necessity of such works in terms of long-term city planning and has made sure that efforts are being made to speed up the process. Shop owners argue, however, that planning and execution of the project have been inadequately sensitive to their survival. They point to a lack of communication in advance, poor signage on diversion routes, and extended periods of inactivity at work sites as major causal factors for their losses.

There have been demands for more active measures, such as paying compensatory money or granting temporary relief from taxes and electricity bills to help firms to see them through this difficult phase.

The controversy over infrastructure building versus the prosperity of local inhabitants has been unleashed by the disagreement. While Bengaluru definitely needs better roads, the current implementation of the white topping project raised severe doubts over its impact on the livelihood of small business.

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