Mysuru highway may impact poll results as locals blame it for loss of business

Mandya/Ramanagara: Pitstops once fuelled the economy of several small towns located between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Thatte idlis in Bidadi, Channapatna Toys and Maddur Vada were among the brands made popular by those commuting between these two major cities of poll-bound Karnataka.

However, the flagship infrastructure project of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) government – the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway – has disrupted these businesses, forcing many to shut shop over the last nine months.

“The expressway has destroyed our businesses,” said Dayanand R, who owns the popular Guru thatte idli, an eatery in Bidadi, about 80 kms from Bengaluru. “Thousands of families have been affected in the region and its impact will be visible in polls.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 118 km expressway on March 12 even though the Congress claimed that some stretches of road were incomplete. Experts said that the expressway was inaugurated hurriedly ahead of the polls to woo voters of the region, otherwise loyal predominantly to the Janata Dal (Secular) and to the Congress. The Congress and JD (S) had claimed that the “incomplete” project was inaugurated for elections.

But far from being wooed, people in the area are feeling hard done by.

“That used to be another idli joint,” said Dayanand R, pointing at the debris near a wall concrete wall, which once was an open area eating place. “We are a big joint and because we are popular, we are able to stay afloat even though our business has come down by almost 60%. But I know of five more small shops like that which have shut down because the owners couldn’t take further loss. They had invested almost 10-15 lakhs,” he said.

Over a kilometre away, Ramachari (goes by one name) , who runs Sree Shivasagar Hotel has a similar story to tell. Standing in front of a wall filled with photos of famous Kannada film actors who frequented his hotel, he calls the expressway a road made for the rich. “What have we, people of from the smaller town gained from it? The road is meant for the people of Bangalore and Mysore. Even though many of us from here sought permission to set up stalls near the expressway, we didn’t get any audience,” he said.

According to Dayanand, the impact of the expressway is not just felt by the restaurant owners but an entire ecosystem that depends on them. “We employ local labour and in the last nine months, I had to reduce my number of employees from 15 to six. Since we have reduced purchases due to lower demand and the provisions stores are feeling the pinch,” he said.

He further added that tender coconut vendors disappearing from a busy highway are a sign of local farmers getting hit by the new infrastructure project.

Deserted Toy town

About 30 kilometres on the expressway lies Channapatna, a town famous for its toys. The toys produced in this town have a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, and were among the gifts offered to then-US president Barack Obama during his visit to India in 2015. The limelight provided by the event gave the struggling Channapatna toy industry hopes of a revival, but the pandemic and the expressway have put paid to those.

There are around 3,000 toy makers in Channapatna and there are around 40 toy and handicraft emporiums located between Ramanagaram and Maddur towns on the expressway. The commuters on the old highway were their regular customers but they are now struggling to find customers.

“The name was our brand. So whenever people came to Channapatna they wanted to get a toy from here, but now hardly anyone comes here,” says RV Chandrashekhar, toy vendor. “On weekends, my shop did business worth ₹20,000. It is does less than ₹500.”

Shafiq Ahmed, an employee of a toy shop said that pit-stops made in Channapatna or Maddur were crucial for the business. “As the business is going down, the shops are laying off employees or salaries are being cut. All of them are locals. Something has to be done otherwise the impact of this expressway will ruin a lot of families.”

Traffic issues

Another 40 kilometres away, in Mandya city, the traffic policemen on duty are happy that the congestion on the main road on the state highway passing through Mandya has drastically reduced. A police constable manning the once busy Mandya town intersection, says that earlier their used to be traffic jams throughout the day. “Now, it is happened only during peak evening hours because of the expressway.”

At Sharada Restaurant in Mandya, an employee agrees with the constable but then points to an area of approximately 200 square feet next to his eating place. “Earlier, we used to keep tables and chairs there for customers. We have removed them now because there are no highway customers. We used to have a shop outside for sweets and savouries. We have shut it down,” said the employee who didn’t want to be named.

The highway has also led to protests by farmers. In February, farmers and villagers blocked the expressway for more than two hours, demanding an underpass near Hanakere in Karnataka’s Mandya district. The protesters parked bullock carts on the highway and threatened to continue the protest indefinitely They claimed that the expressway had cut off access between several villages.

However, NHAI officials told the protesters that a proposal for the underpass was pending before it and construction would begin once the project was approved. “We are waiting for the construction to start. They should have inaugurated the expressway with the underpasses. What was the hurry in starting the half expressway? ” asked one villager.

But commuters say that the expressway has reduced the travel time between Bengaluru to Mysuru by at least 1 hour from the three hours it used to take earlier. “Now daily commuting between Bengaluru and Mysuru is a possibility. This express will lead to development of entire region between the two cities,” said Suresh Moudgal, a businessman who travels between Bengaluru and Mysuru regularly.

Of course, it is still a nightmare to get to the heart of either city once the expressway ends.

Project politics

The JD(S) has used the project against the BJP ever since it was inaugurated. Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said that the expressway will be of no use to the residents of Ramanagara and Mandya districts. “More than 2,600 businesses such as small, medium hotels, micro and small industries, petrol pumps and others have shut due to the new expressway. More than 6,000 people have lost their livelihoods.”

“The old highway was the lifeline of Ramanagara and Mandya districts and the lakhs of people in them. The new highway is a route for money for some people. The express highway has claimed the livelihoods of people. They have been dealt a major blow to their personal lives and economic power,” he added.

The JD (S)’ politics is reflected on the ground with most shopkeepers, who have lost business, saying they would support the party in the upcoming election. “Only Kumaranna has spoken for us. He has promised to help us when he comes to power,” says Pawan Gowda, a toy vendor in Channapatna, from where the JD(S) is leader contesting the polls.

Accepting that some businesses have lost out, BJP MP Pratap Simha said that the expressway will be a catalyst for the development of the state and will help build Mysuru as the next financial and IT hub after Bengaluru. Commenting on the impact on businesses in the smaller towns along the way, he said, a plan is in place to help them.

“A 300-acre plot has been identified in Channapatna, where a multi-storey business park will be built at a cost of ₹1,200 crore. This will house eateries representing regional food, including the famous Bidadi thatte idlis and Maddur vada. They will also have Channapatna toys. There will be dedicated rest areas along the highway at Bidadi and Channapatna, where people can put up their eateries and local artisans can set up shops,” Simha added.

However, the Congress is claiming credit for the project with former chief minister Siddaramaiah on several occasions saying that the expressway was upgraded from a state highway to a national highway by him and HC Mahadevappa, who was the minister for public works in his cabinet.