Bengaluru: The 15-day deadline Chief Minister Siddaramaiah set for the BBMP to fill all potholes in the city is ending on Tuesday. Mr Siddaramaiah had set the deadline on October 9 during his inspection of the city along with Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George. While the BBMP claims to have filled over 80 percent of potholes, activists and citizens refuse to believe it. They point to many stretches in the city that are still riddled with potholes.
D.S. Rajashekar, president, Citizens' Action Forum, said, “The BBMP can even claim that it has filled 100 percent potholes in the city because there is no one to check their claims. Initially, they said the city has 15,935 potholes, but later amended it to say that the number could be more because of incessant rains.”
The BBMP claiming to have filled 80 percent of potholes in the city is like a student writing the exam, evaluating his own answer script and giving himself an excellent score, Mr Rajashekar said.
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“We are not saying that the BBMP is not filling the potholes. But it is done only on major roads and that too not fully. If civic activists point out their inefficiency, BBMP officials don’t take it positively. Let the BBMP conduct a survey among a few residents at all its 198 wards. The truth will come out then,” he said.
Mr Vishwanath, a resident of Magadi Road, said, “Forget interior roads, even main roads around Binny Mill, Magadi Road and Rajajinagar still have potholes. They have done a haphazard job and already asphalt is coming off from the filled potholes.”
Mayor Sampath Raj said, “Because of heavy rains, pothole filling work was affected. Of the 15 days that the chief minister set as deadline, 6-7 days had heavy rains. According to the figures I have, over 80 percent of potholes in the city have been filled and we shall fill the rest in a few days.”
