BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday set December 17 as the deadline for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to make Mahadevapura Zone free of potholes, while for the entire city, it marked Christmas as the date. The court also warned BBMP that it would pass an order declaring that the agency had failed to provide smooth and motorable roads in the city by filling potholes even after it was given six months’ time.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S Sujatha set this deadline while pulling up BBMP, saying the city had to be returned to its original aesthetic level.
The court set December 17 as deadline to make Mahadevapura Zone potholes-free as BBMP counsel informed the court that this zone was in a worse shape compared to others. “Let’s start with the zone which is in a worse shape. This doesn’t mean that BBMP should not do work in other zones during this period,” it said.
“You have created a nightmare for yourself and the citizens. If you do not complete pothole-filling works by Christmas, you will face consequences for the sufferings of people. There is no enemy other than yourselves and your own approach is the biggest problem. Close down Bengaluru if the Commissioner has gone to Belagavi instead of monitoring road repair works in the city,” the court observed.
The court orally said: “The officials are proving that they have failed, and the citizens cannot be left at your mercy. Please name a place where Bengalureans could go till the BBMP corrects the roads. We are repeating this the second time: if you don’t take it seriously, we will pass an order that BBMP has failed and the work has to be transferred to another agency.”
The counsel of the petitioners — Vijayan Menon and others — seeking directives to fill potholes, pointed out that there was a pothole in front of Gate-2 of the HC and it was not filled despite being brought to their notice during the last hearing. The BBMP counsel replied that it was filled on Monday. The court replied that if BBMP acted like this, the court would have to list the matter at least twice a day so that BBMP fills the potholes.
DEATH WAS NOT DUE TO POTHOLE: BBMP
During the hearing, Senior Counsel Aditya Sondhi, who was inducted as independent member of the Coordination Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, informed the court that a motorist had died due to a pothole. To the court’s queries, BBMP Counsel V Sreenidhi said the death was not due to a pothole but ongoing road repair works. Sondhi replied that an inquiry was required to know whether it was due to a pothole or roadwork, as it was reported in media that the pothole was filled up after the accident. The court then stressed the necessity of putting signages to alert motorists about ongoing works to avoid such mishaps.
Are they here to have picnic?
“We really want to know whether we are cutting jokes here? These people (BBMP engineers) are supposed to be on the sites. What are they doing here? Everybody is coming here for picnic?,” the court asked BBMP counsel after it came to know that BBMP engineers were present in the court. Then BBMP counsel replied that he had asked them to be present in the court to get instructions to submit to court. The court asked him to ensure that only officials required, and not all officials, remain in the court so they do not miss their work. The court also expressed displeasure over strange replies given by two chief engineers when asked about their work.