Bengaluru interrupted! Election-rain double whammy strikes

The Assembly Elections were followed by an extended spell of pre-monsoon rainfall, which has hampered several civic projects in the city, with residents bearing the brunt.
Bengaluru interrupted! Election-rain double whammy strikes

BENGALURU: The Assembly Elections were followed by an extended spell of pre-monsoon rainfall, which has hampered several civic projects in the city, with residents bearing the brunt.

As per the Election Commission’s model code of conduct, works which have already begun can proceed but no new work can be taken up during the period concerned, which extended from March 28 to May 18. In addition, majority of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) officials were also assigned election duty.

The pre-monsoon showers began in April and have continued almost unabated, as May saw rainfall almost every day. In addition, with the monsoon reaching the city, projects on which rainfall has a bearing (mainly asphalting) are set to be further delayed.

WHITE-TOPPING WORKS

BBMP Chief Engineer (Projects) KT Nagaraj said it was inevitable that rainfall would delay most project works. Specifically for white-topping works, he said concrete cannot be laid during rainfall, which slows down work. However, as works were already started at many locations, these places, with incomplete works, are leading to traffic issues.

On Kalyan Nagar Main Road, white-topping works were taken up last year and then stopped in December due to the large traffic snarls they were causing. However, DS Rajashekar, who stays nearby, said congestion still persists due to the mismatch between the levels of white-topped and other roads, especially as white-topping has been done on only one side of the road.

“Another issue is that inner roads that lead to the main road have been connected with asphalt instead of concrete. So I do not know how the intersection of the two kinds of roads that will hold up,” he said. Another example where unfinished work is hampering commuters is Siddaiah Road in Wilson Garden.

SWD WORKS

Works on storm water drains, crucial to control flooding during the monsoon, have been affected both by the code and conduct and then by the rains. As per BBMP Chief Engineer (SWD) Bettegowda, the code affected only a few works.“During rainfall, we ourselves slow down the rate of work as we are not supposed to carry out any excavations, which might cause the water to gush out of the drain,” he said. The storm water drain on Link Road at Seshadripuram is such an example, as work on it began several months ago but the drain is still in a bad state.

ASPHALTING ON ROADS

A senior BBMP official said asphalting of roads cannot be done when it is raining regularly, and hence no asphalting was taken up in the past month, and would not be taken up until the monsoon passes. “Instead, only covering of potholes would be taken up using cold mix, which is not durable, but would hold up for about 3-4 months,” he said.In addition, officials from both SWD and Major Roads departments confirmed that many labourers had returned to their native villages and towns before the elections, which also caused delays.   

OTHER WORKS

In Defence Colony within Indiranagar, several internal roads were dug up for a BWSSB project and were not restored, which had turned the road into dirt tracks. Resident Vidya Chandy suggests the code of conduct might have been only used as a pretext. “Work had started earlier (before poll code), then logically it should be completed and not treated as a separate project,” she said.Sonali Singh, a resident of Bellandur, said residents’ demand for a skywalk was already delayed for a long time, and then the elections delayed it further. The project was finally approved in May, and ground work began in June.

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