BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s citizens can finally look forward to pothole-free roads. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar, who has allocated Rs 1,100 crore to fix city roads, stated on his social media handle that “pothole-free roads are the priority”.
Shivakumar added that 14 assembly segments in Bengaluru were allocated Rs 50 crore, and the remaining were given Rs 25 crore for asphalting of roads.
Bad road infrastructure has remained a curse for Bengaluru, with deaths attributed to potholes and craters, and traffic impacted on a daily basis. While funds have been allocated, the official government order and agency to be tasked to execute the project, is yet to be clarified. Similarly, details of the 14 constituencies that will receive Rs 50 crore, and those which would receive Rs 25 crore, also need clarity.
“The project is most likely to be handled by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-Smile),” said a source in the DCM’s office. The monsoon will slow down by the end of October, and asphalting will be taken up on a large scale, he said.
However, infrastructure and mobility experts have raised their concerns. Dr Ashish Verma from IISc says only contractors and corporation engineers will benefit from this allocation.
D Prasad, member of the Indian Road Congress, suggested creating an ID for executive engineers working on road infrastructure to track them even if they are transferred, in case shoddy work comes to light within the defective liability period, so their promotions could be withheld and post-retirement benefits could be cut.
“Pothole has become a ‘circular economy’. The money may be used to fill potholes, and in a month or two, the people making a hue and cry will forget and move on, and again orders will be passed to fill the resurfaced potholes.
They will not address the root cause, which is stagnation of water on roads. A simple thing that engineers have to do is take care of crossroads. Rainwater that falls on the roadside should flow down the side drains. If this is done, one need not worry about roads for years, but that does not happen,” rued Verma.
Echoing this, Prasad said good quality bitumen should be used, and before it is laid, base correction is a must. It means the weak points have to be identified, which if ignored, will end up as potholes.
“The corporation should use polymer modified bitumen (PMB) for durability,” he said. The drainage system has to be fixed, and flow of water from the road surface to the drain should be maintained. “Work should be avoided during the monsoon.
Greater Bengaluru Authority should come up with a strict defective liability period clause against executive engineers on the road project. They should be tracked by software ID, and held responsible for potholes and damage within the defective liability period,” Prasad suggested.