Deadline nears, BBMP hopes to fill 90 per cent of potholes by Monday

BENGALURU: With just a few days remaining for Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials to meet CM Siddaramaiah’s deadline for making city roads pothole-free, Palike officials are racing against time to repair roads. Officials from Engineering Division and contractors are working non-stop and  BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad is confident of filling  90 per cent potholes by Monday.
Following the deaths of three people due to bad roads, the CM directed BBMP officials on October 9 to fill all potholes in 15 days. He had warned that chief engineers will be held responsible if potholes are not filled. Since then, officials are racing against time.

Even in the wee hours on Friday, BBMP authorities were seen filling potholes. Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, Mayor Sampath Raj and chief engineers inspected the pothole-filling drive from 1 am to 5.30 am.BBMP authorities had said they had identified 16,000 potholes besides some damaged roads. When asked about the number of potholes filled so far, Prasad said they are not keeping a count of the potholes that need to be fixed. “In fact, we are going by each road. As and when potholes surface, they are filled. If needed, parts of stretches are also being relaid. Our concern is to make roads free of potholes,’’ he said.

Prasad said they hope to complete at least 90 per cent of the wok by Monday. “By early Friday, we have finished at least 70 per cent of the work,’’ he claimed. “We will have a review meeting on Sunday where we will get a better picture,’’ he said. “We have a WhatsApp group for the pothole-filling drive where our officials are updating the details along with photos and location,’’ he added.

According to the Palike commissioner, 300 engineers including chief engineers, executive engineers and ward engineers are overseeing the works. “This apart, we have 50 contractors on the job. Fortunately, it is not raining for the last two days and we have been able to make good use of the available time. We have instructed the contractors to use hot mix,’’ he said.

No relief from bumpy rides

Even while BBMP authorities are struggling to fill potholes, vehicle users have been experiencing bumpy rides on many stretches. Potholes are seen at Mekhri Circle, Srinivaagilu Main Road, near Passport Office in Koramnagala, Viveknagar, Infantry Road, Mysuru Road near Nayandahalli, in Gandhinagar opposite City railway station, Banashankari, Sarjapur Road in Agara among other places.