BENGALURU: Bengalureans could soon make 3D art around potholes a thing of the past. Citizens have come up with unique ideas to draw the attention of the BBMP officials and get potholes fixed. One such innovative idea put the BBMP officials to shame and forced them to fix the ‘crater’ immediately. Somebody placed a toilet pot on a pothole at ST Bed in Koramangala, leaving many commuters amused.
Vikram Ponnappa, a commuter, said, “The pothole was never fixed. For many days we saw a toilet pot on the side of the road. Then suddenly on Thursday morning, the pot was fixed on the pothole.”
The picture was posted online with the tag line - ‘Potty in a Pothole’, which immediately caught the BBMP’s attention. BBMP workers soon reached the spot, removed the toilet pot and fixed the pothole by Thursday evening itself. However, Somanna, a resident of the area, said that only the pothole was fixed and the rest of the area was left unattended.
Similarly, on Magadi Road, locals kept sandbags around a pothole in the middle of a road. “The BBMP workers dump construction debris to fill potholes. So we have decided to provide good quality material for the BBMP to use,” said Kalyan, a resident of Magadi Road.
In some other places, saplings are kept in potholes to draw the palike’s attention. On November 22, BMBP Commissioner and Mayor had set November 10 as the deadline to fix all potholes and had said that rain cannot be used as an excuse to not meet the deadline. They also said that citizens can bring potholes to BBMP’s notice and they would be fixed immediately. However, this has not been done.
BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar admitted to TNIE that no work has started on potholes. “We are waiting for the rains to stop. There was a dry day on Thursday but by the time materials were mobilised it was too late. Now work will start only after the rain settles,” he said.