BENGALURU: To ensure that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) meets its November 10 deadline of fixing potholes, civic body commissioner BH Anil Kumar and mayor N Goutham Kumar will conduct surprise spot inspections of city roads from Saturday.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a council meeting, the newly appointed mayor said, “I have written to all the corporators to join hands to get the potholes fixed. From November 2, the commissioner and I will go on surprise spot inspections to ensure that potholes are being fixed. If potholes are not filled by November 10, then the engineer concerned will be suspended and the contractor black listed.”
The commissioner said shoddy jobs like not using bitumen and tar to fill potholes will not be tolerated. “There is Rs 50 crore in escrow account and Rs 20-30 lakh for every ward. There is no shortage of funds to fill potholes. There is also a three-year defect liability period and each contractor they have to ensure that there are no potholes during this time,” he said.
However, both of them had no information on the number of potholes fixed in the last 10 days when the deadline was first announced. They, however, clarified that so far no engineer was suspended and no contractor was blacklisted.
Meanwhile, Congress councillors blamed the BJP government for the city’s pothole-riddled roads.Leader of the opposition Abdul Wajid accused Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa of not paying attention to the city. “The CM has forgotten that he is the Bengaluru in-charge minister. Apart from conducting one city round, he has not held any meeting to ascertain the condition of Bengaluru, including its roads. There has been no assurance from the CM on getting funds for the city.”