BENGALURU: Memes and stickers about Bengaluru’s roads have been trending on social media, the most famous being, ‘I am not drunk, but avoiding potholes’. It is a meme every commuter in Bengaluru will relate to.
Agitated with the pathetic condition of city roads, citizens are inviting Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner or Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who holds Bengaluru Development Portfolio, to leave their air-conditioned high-end cars and hitch a ride with them on their two-wheelers to know the actual condition of Bengaluru roads.
“Whenever a chief minister or prime minister is going on city rounds, the roads are tarred, but soon after the visit, the roads are filled with potholes again. Bangalore University road is a classic example of it. There seems to be no solution for bad roads in the city, and now the BBMP is inviting experts to tell engineers how roads should be, which is ironical. Engineers ought to know how to ensure roads are pothole free,” voiced an agitated citizen.
Experts point out that spotfix solutions are serving no purpose in improving city roads. Relaying of roads has also proved inefficient. The state capital and tech capital of the country is in the news for the wrong reasons -- flooding, pothole deaths, flyover roads caving in and even pedestrians falling into open drains, leading to deaths.
Bengaluru has no corporation or mayor, no elected representatives and no dedicated minister responsible for works and improvement. “Citizen deaths have not shaken the government into taking stern action and improving roads. High Court directions have also fallen on deaf ears.
Despite multiple projects and agencies including DULT, Bengaluru Smart City Limited, BBMP, TenderSure roads, white topping and many other projects, the city continues to be in a shambles, and citizens pray with every step they take. This is because each project is being executed independently, but each agency is working in isolation,” admitted a senior UDD official.