BENGALURU: Deadlines have come and gone, but potholes have remained. BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad on September 14 vowed to fix all the potholes in the city in just 10 days. Unable to meet the 10-day deadline, partly owing to rains, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) then set a deadline of September 30. Even that date has passed with little concrete action on the ground. As per a BBMP survey, there are 5,067 potholes in the city.
The BBMP blames rains for missing the deadline. “With incessant rains, we have not been able to finish the work of filling potholes,” said a senior official.Newly elected Mayor Sampath Raj too echoed it. “The City has been having continuous downpour. To fill the potholes, we need to use the wet mix, use the roller and then asphalt. There has been no breathing time for this as there are continuous rains. We are waiting for some good sunshine,” he said.
He said it would not be possible to set an assured deadline with the weather conditions being uncertain. “We will take it up in a phased manner. Major roads will be given priority,” he added.
Former Mayor G Padmavathi attributed the poor condition of roads to lack of monitoring and follow-up action.
She added that unlike before, there is no field visit by the Assistant Executive Engineers and the Assistant Engineers. “I have also pointed this out to the City-in-charge minister. Rather than calling for a meeting with the top officials, if the AEE and AE are held responsible, work would progress,” she said.She said that though Rs 45 crore was sanctioned which could be utilised for taking up works without calling for tenders, it has not been spent fully.
“It was also proposed that AEE and AE be fined at least Rs 100 per pothole. But that proposal was not translated into action. There was also a proposal that engineers must send photos of potholes before and after filling them up to the Commissioner. This has not been implemented either,” she pointed out.
According to road experts, there is no quick-fix for this gaping problem. Some potholes are fixed in no time. This could be because in many places, the BBMP filled up potholes using construction debris. It’s not surprising then that potholes have become so widespread, they said.The BBMP Commissioner had earlier said that the roads were bad not only because of the quality of asphalting, but also because of digging by various agencies.
THE HOLE TRUTH
5,067 potholes in City as per BBMP survey
Deadline
On Sept 14, BBMP Commissioner said potholes would be fixed in 10 days
New deadline
September 30
Reason for failure
Incessant rains
What next?
BBMP waiting for good sunshine