Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao being detained by the police during a protest against the pothole menace, in Bengaluru on Friday | Shashidhar Byrappa
BENGALURU: Under fire over its inability to fill the increasing number of potholes in the city, some of which have led to fatal accidents in the last few months, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to train its engineers attached with road infrastructure on how to cover potholes.
Talking to TNIE, BBMP Engineer-In-Chief, B S Prahalad said, “On October 31, a seminar will be held at Town Hall and Technical Advisory Committee, retired engineers like Prof Jaya Gopal, Jagadeesh and other experts will train BBMP engineers on how to fill potholes.
The Palike is not engaging any private player nor will it be sanctioning any funds to any private agency. The day-long seminar will throw light on how to address the issue and ensure that potholes are fixed in a way that they sustain for a longer time.”Initially, it was reported that the Palike, which spends Rs 30 crore annually to fix potholes, has engaged private agencies to train BBMP engineers.
Recently, over 27,000 potholes were found in BBMP’s limits under ‘Fix My Street Application’, of which 14,000 potholes have been filled with bitumen mix and 4,000 complaints were ignored as the officials found them to be not so serious.
Several motorists have met with fatal accidents related to potholes in the recent past. Only last week, a woman pillion rider was run over by a bus after her daughter, who was riding a two-wheeler, lost balance and fell while trying to negotiate a pothole.
