Intermittent rains have exposed the true face of Bangalore roads in the last three days. A reality check conducted by Express team revealed that most of the roads in the city have become non-motorable. Suranjandas Road in HAL, Commercial Street, parts of CMH Road, Ulsoor, Residency Roads, Annasandrapalya, Goods Shed Road, Vidyaranyapuram, Yeshwantpur and Nrupatunga Roads are some of the core areas with the problem of potholes. The BBMP has failed to come up with any permanent solutions.
Experts told Express that the city is facing the recurring problem of potholes because of the poor construction material used to lay the roads. A new concrete road, supposed to last 15-20 years, is damaged by a steady downpour and potholes appear on it leading to problems like traffic snarls and accidents. Potholes on the roads point at poor planning and lack of maintenance in public infrastructure projects, the experts said.
Earlier, the BBMP had resorted to buying pothole filling machines of international standards to fix the problem. But now it is using an instant all-weather pothole repair solution.
V Ravichandar, Chairman, Feedback Consultants, said, “The roads are poorly constructed and maintained. The drainage system on either sides of the roads is very weak. Water is the enemy of asphalt and when it rains, today’s puddle becomes tomorrow’s pothole. This is what the rains in the last few days have revealed.”
M N Sreehari, Advisor to state government on infrastructure and transport, said, “Poor quality materials and improper compaction lead to poor roads, not to mention the lack of proper camber. Inadequate quantity of bitumen leads to the frequent surfacing of potholes.”
Meanwhile, the BBMP claimed that it has recently invested `50 lakh in a project which would involve cold tarring technology.
“We have released `50 lakh for this project and the remaining amount will have to be generated through tenders. The tender process will be finalised in about 10 days. We assure Bangaloreans that all the potholes will be filled soon,” said Rajneesh Goel, Commissioner, BBMP. Citizens can call the BBMP control room on 080- 22660000 and complain about the potholes in their area.