BENGALURU: Experts as well as the common man flayed the never-ending civic works and taking up of road-related infrastructure during monsoon by various civic agencies in Bengaluru.
D Prasad, member, Indian Road Congress, and road infrastructure expert, slammed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) for causing inconvenience to the public. He said taking up digging work during rains is bad practice.
“The civic works involving road cutting will lead to soil accumulation on roads, resulting in slow traffic and, also, accidents sometimes. In some cases, dug-up areas are not sealed and this has resulted in untoward incidents. To avoid all these, a coordination committee has to be formed,” he said.
The persons heading such a committee must have access to all departments and should oversee the execution of such projects on time.
“The BBMP and BWSSB should use precast slabs and structures to immediately fix the roads. In case of a project involving 1 km of digging, the authorities should adopt the scheduled approach, cut open to only 100 metres finish the project and take further cutting to avoid traffic. Besides, clear soil from the road and seal the dug-up area with caution tapes,” he said.
Facing challenges
Residents of Chunchgatta Main Road, Srishakti Nagar in the Konanakunte ward, who have been facing the issue for the last four months say the road was dug up by BWSSB to install sewage pipes and the engineer concerned was not answering calls.
“We don’t know how many months we will have to suffer due to poor roads,” said Shantha Kumar, vice-president, Kempegowda Sene.
BWSSB officials from Waste Water Management from Bengaluru South Division said that from Sarakki to Anjaneya Temple, 900-mm diameter pipes are being installed and this is a 12-month project.
“We are facing a big challenge as there are KPTCL cables, BESCOM cables, and also BBMP stormwater drains. Despite these challenges, we have set a deadline to complete the pipe installation by September,” said the official.
Similarly, roads have been dug up at JC Road and near Navarang Talkies in Rajajinagar. BWSSB officials said they will only restore the road, once the projects are completed.
