9,400 potholes on Bengaluru's 14,500 km roads!
Instead of filling the potholes, the authorities seem to be counting them, said Dr Nagaraj, a resident of Rajajinagar.
Bengaluru: The IT and Garden City Bengaluru has now been reduced to a pothole city, because of the apathy of BBMP authorities.
Though Benglauru Development Minister K.J. George and BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad had set September end as deadline to fill up all the potholes, the numbers have only increased due to incessant rains. Instead of filling the potholes, the authorities seem to be counting them, said Dr Nagaraj, a resident of Rajajinagar.
According to statistics given by the BBMP, the city has 9,400 potholes. But, in reality the number could be nearly double, he said. “The rains have left the city’s roads in a terrible shape because of the shoddy work. It is difficult to find a good stretch of road, but it is easy to find death traps like potholes. As it is spending crores of rupees, the civic body should ensure better works,” he said.
“We frequently hear about motorists injuring their spines and limbs because of bad roads. Some accidents have also turned fatal. It is the tax payers’ right to demand pothole free roads,” he said.
A senior engineer in the BBMP, on condition of anonymity, said that the number of potholes has increased because of continuous rains. About a month ago, the number of potholes was 5,067, and it has now increased to 9,400. All ward level engineers were asked to give a report on the potholes in their jurisdiction and it was submitted to the BBMP head office, he said.
The city has 14,500 km of roads and they have 9,400 potholes.
Chief Engineer (Road Infrastructure) S. Somashekar said that the pothole-filling drive has begun on all arterial and sub-arterial roads in all eight zones.
“All potholes on major roads will be covered by September end, provided the weather is favourable. As potholes are filled only in the night the progress is slow,” he said.
Micro Milling machine
It is the recent technology to cover potholes effectively.
The machine helps remove dust and creates an ambience for better bonding of hot mix, preventing uneven surfaces.