A newly laid road in Kurubarahalli caved in late on Monday, setting off political accusations and doubts over the construction of roads under the Chief Minister’s Nagarothana scheme.
A part of the concrete road near 60-ft Road in Mahalakshmipuram ward collapsed, exposing the metal rods imbibed within. “A 26-year-old man was injured when he fell into this on Monday night, two days since the road was concretised under the Nagarothana Grants at a cost of ₹1.25 crore. This is an indication of the quality of work,” claimed S. Harish, former Deputy Mayor and BJP leader.
However, the local councillor Keshavmurthy, who is from Congress, said this was a localised problem. “The road is narrow and has a culvert in it. While a hole was left on the road to dredge the drain, residents put pressure on the contractor to close it as they could not use the road otherwise. This part of the work was not sanctioned and the contractor temporarily closed it. This has fallen now,” he said.
K. Gopalaiah, JD(S) MLA for the area, said the caved in portion would be fixed by Wednesday. “There are no issues about the quality. Heavy movement over a temporary closure has caused it. We’ll plug it permanently,” he said.