Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway disrupts local businesses, from Channapatna toys to ‘thatte’ idli and Maddur vada

There are no exits from the partially opened Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway to towns like Channapatna, Ramanagaram and Bidadi, and this is bad news for local craftsmen and iconic eateries

For those who travel from Bengaluru to Mysuru, a few pit stops along the way has been a tradition. From a breakfast halt at Bidadi for piping hot ‘thatte’ idlis to buying wooden toys or cutlery for home décor at Ramanagaram — regular travellers never miss them and a whole economy thrives on these patrons.

The opening up of a 58 kilometre stretch of Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from Hejjala to Nidaghatta of Maddur taluk has changed all that. The local businesses in Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Channapatna, and Maddur have been hit, with commuters mostly preferring to take the expressway. Hotels, petrol pumps, toys and handicrafts, and other roadside trade along the old Bengaluru-Mysuru highway have been affected.

With their Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Channapatna wooden toys and handcrafts are very famous across the globe. There are around 3,000 toy makers and many toy industries in Channapatna taluk. There are also around 40 toy and handicraft emporiums located between Ramanagaram and Maddur towns. The commuters on the old highway were their regular customers. The expressway has diverted these toy buyers away.

“The new highway is far away from the city and there are no exits from the highway into towns like Channapatna, Ramanagaram, and Bidadi. Around 90% of toy businesses have been affected over the last month. The traditional wooden toys and handicraft businesses are already facing many threats from the Chinese toys, besides shortage of ivory wood. Now the demand has also declined due to the new expressway,” said Venkatesh, who runs a toy business in Channapatna.

In addition to these, small traders like tender coconut vendors, fruit and vegetable vendors, sugarcane juice stalls and other small commercial businesses have reported losses since the opening of the expressway.

The thatte idli of Bidadi is famous for its smoothness and taste across the State and there are more than 50 thatte idli joints located between Kumbalgodu and Bidadi.

While Kannada matinee idols like Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, and Ambarish were frequent patrons to these stalls back in their heyday, today, former Chief Ministers B.S. Yediyurappa and H.D. Kumaraswamy also visit the iconic eateries for breakfast. For travelers from Bengaluru to Mysuru on road, Bidadi was the designated breakfast spot. However, with the opening of the new expressway, these eateries are facing losses.