Stability of Sophia School skywalk in Bangalore comes under a cloud

Stepping on this yet-to-be-opened sidewalk could be a perilous endeavour. The foot-over bridge  (FOB) in front of Sophia School, which has not yet been thrown open to the public despite being ready, has allegedly come up without obtaining the requisite stability certificate from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Also, the structure has allegedly not obtained the completion certificate from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Disclosing these startling “facts” and producing documents to prove his point, BBMP opposition party leader M Nagaraj on Tuesday said that Vantage Advertising Private Limited had entered into an agreement with the BBMP on November 20, 2004 to construct FOBs on a Built-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis at seven spots. The initial licence was to be for five years and could be renewed for 25 years.

“Even though it was agreed as a pilot project, the Palike gave permission to construct the seven skywalks at Lalbagh Road near main gate, Jayanagar 30th cross (near bus stand), Cunningham Road (near MSIL), KH Road (near BMTC office), Airport Road (near Kemp Fort), Residency Road (near Bishop Cotton School) and RV Road (near Vijaya College). It was also agreed that Vantage would pay a monthly rent of `10,000 per month towards each skywalk,” he said.

Nagaraj alleged that the pilot skywalk which was earlier built by Vantage at Jayanagar 30th Cross was removed and shifted near Sophia School. “The skywalk was shifted to reap the the benefit of advertisements. However, the agency has built the skywalk without taking the stability certificate from IISc and completion certificate. The skywalk was shifted to Palace Road as thousands commute on the road towards Bengaluru International Airport and obviously, the place is capable of generating huge advertisement revenue, whereas the visibility is lesser at the spot earmarked in Jayanagar,” he said.

He said Vantage was paying Rs1.2 lakh annually to the Palike, but if the skywalks had been auctioned it would have generated a revenue of Rs35 crore within a period of 30 years. The officials had sanctioned the skywalks to the advertisement agency without even inviting the tender, he said and added that the officials involved should be brought to book.

Nagaraj also alleged that the Sophia School skywalk had been built encroaching the footpath. “The skywalk has been a built violating the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act as well as the advertisement byelaws. The Supreme Court ruling prohibits the use of footpath for private purposes causing obstructions to the pedestrians,” he pointed out.