Bengaluru’s low roads to hell

Bengaluru: We could all face the fate of Stuthi Pandey, if the BBMP, BDA or other civic agencies don’t set our roads and city right. Team DC went around the city, identifying some of the deadliest stretches, waiting to claim lives and limbs, even as the traffic police squarely laid the blame on the BBMP

You can hit them or hate them, but there’s no way you can escape them! The deadly potholes in the city are as dangerous as unleashed criminals. If it’s a bummer to enter the posh Vasanth Nagar via Palace Road; bikers may soon start ailing from back ache riding in Kadubeesanahalli everyday. Though attached to the fringes of the uber-busy Koramangala, Austin Town still lacks good roads.

A damaged manhole at Austin Town

While the civic agency continues to sleep over crater-like-potholes, many innocent Bengalureans are paying with their lives. And don’t to be shocked; there are more than 3,000 potholes across the city- some silent; some waiting to claim more lives.

The BBMP may have announced to fix all the potholes by November, and if it does keep up its words, we hope it’s not another shoddy work of the agency. For, it is only filling mud in the places where it claims to have started the so-called repair works.  

A bad stretch of road posing danger to two-wheeler riders at Basavanagudi

Starting from KIA Road in the North up till Uttarahalli in the South, we have brought a series of photos from some of the prime locations capturing the miserable conditions of roads the state government thinks Bengalureans deserve.

A nine-year-old boy, his mother, and a techie have been killed in a span of a few weeks. Their mistake — they underestimated the power of a potholed road! We have taken note of the killer potholes, has the BBMP?

Boulders used to cover a drain in Rajarajeshwari Nagar

Top cop Saleem’s pothole count: 1032

The Bangalore City Traffic Police on Tuesday submitted a report of the number of potholes on the roads in and around the city to the commissioner of BBMP. In the report, Additional Commissioner (Traffic) M.A. Saleem has asked civic authorities for “treatment” of those pot holes that are not only causing road mishaps and loss of lives, but also causing major obstruction to the traffic flow. M.A. Saleem said that the report contains the details of 1032 pot-holes that were identified by the city traffic police over the last two days.

A hole dug up for repairing a manhole left uncovered at a blind corner near NGMA

Contractor still scot free

Reacting to the death of Stuthi Pandey, who fell off the motorbike while riding pillion with her husband when he tried to avoid a pothole on September 17, Bengaluru in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy had recently said that the contractors responsible for shoddy works and failing to maintain roads would be punished severely. But even five days after the incident on the Kadubeesanahalli flyover, the contractor, Simplex Infrastructure, has not been served any notice for failing to maintain the road.

BDA engineer member P.N. Nayak, however, maintained that there were no lapses on the part of the contractor. The flyover was executed by the BDA at a cost of Rs 27 crore about two years ago and the contractor is bound by law to fill potholes and maintain the stretch for three years.

A bumpy stretch on Cunningham Road

Founder member of the Outer Ring Road Companies’ Association Vishwanath Seetharam said that the contractor should be held responsible and penalised for failing to fill potholes and ensure a smooth ride for commuters. “A precious life has been lost due to the lapse on the part of the contractor,” he said. “The contractor has not provided an outlet for water on the flyover. Our association hired workers and drained it out. How can a contractor be so callous? The BDA should form a committee to ensure that the projects are executed as per the contract norms before releasing funds,” he said.