(pic above: real time traffic map from google on a weekday morning - red lines show the traffic congestion)

BBMP is building a Rs 23-crore underpass on Sarjapur Road, at the Haralur Road junction so vehicles coming from Haralur Road can turn right turn towards Sarjapur and vehicles coming from ORR can turn into Haralur Road.

While the proposal was based on the situation back in 2016-17, the ground situation has changed now with traffic management measures being taken.

Since then objections have been repeatedly raised in every possible forum for many years.  For e.g in 2018 in a meeting held with senior BBMP officials and the honorable MLA :
The second meeting was with senior BBMP officials of Mahadevpura. “The highlight of this meeting was that we presented our opposition to an upcoming, badly-designed underpass at Haralur junction, and the MLA agreed with us,” said Mukund Kumar. “Any junction improvement must address the crucial point between ORR and Ibbalur. A piecemeal solution will not work,” Kumar added.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2018/jun/16/bengaluru-mla-arvind-limbavali-instructs-bbmp-to-build-walkway-on-outer-ring-road-1828935.html

While admittedly it does benefit a small percentage of commuters,  it brings in significantly more misery to a higher percentage of commuters, than the gains for the below reasons :

• The T junction has been blocked for many years. Bengaluru Traffic Police barricaded it in 2016 - the traffic problem here that used to exist prior to that has been addressed by getting vehicles to take a U-turn at Manipal/Columbia Asia hospital and Fire station. This arrangement made traffic flow smooth. What is actually required now are walkways for pedestrians to cross the road. 
• It will reduce the already narrow carriageway on Sarjapur road. 
• It will further choke the Iblur Junction - which in any case the true bottleneck for Sarjapur Road traffic. Since the distance between Haralur junction and Iblur junction is less than 500 m, the proposed underpass will come to grade at Iblur junction. Traffic from the underpass will interfere with oncoming traffic from the main road.
• There could be waterlogging problems as raised by BBMP itself in this article, especially during rains - this spot is almost where the rajakaluve from Ambalipura Lake crosses Sarjapur Road towards Iblur Lake. Plus underpasses are usually poorly maintained! 
• BBMP itself has been looking to junk underpasses in favour of flyovers - as brought out in this article 
• it will directly come in the way of the proposed Iblur-Carmelaram metro line along the Outer Ring Road.
• AND MORE IMPORTANTLY – When the Sarjapur Road Metro eventually comes up, this underpass may interfere with the design and may potentially have to be removed!

Over the last few years, residents have objected to the project multiple times;  Yet work seems to be progressing. 

We call upon BBMP to stop this wasteful expenditure now, and instead look at a holistic solution by addressing the main bottleneck at Ibblur junction which will in turn make the underpass redundant.

Additional references:

https://themetrorailguy.com/2022/03/06/hebbal-sarjapur-line-readded-to-bangalore-metro-phase-3-plans/

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/haralur-road-underpass-will-become-useless-within-years-residents-groups-1072131.html

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/civic/iblur-junction-underpass-bad-idea-say-residents/articleshow/87787968.cms

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/funding-constraints-or-corruption-bbmp-leaves-underpasses-incomplete-1107608.html

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/bengaluru/bbmp-junks-underpasses-to-build-flyovers-instead/articleshow/71604899.cms

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/civic/listen-to-our-needs/articleshow/87574614.cms

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bbmp-looks-for-solution-to-water-logged-underpasses-and-flyovers/article65376231.ece

https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/iblur-junction-sustainability-66388

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/civic/sinking-underpass-feeling/articleshow/91477191.cms