The white topping solution of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to ensure longevity for the city’s roads has another civic agency worried about its infrastructure: drinking water and drainage pipelines.
Many stretches are being upgraded from asphalt surface to being white-topped (concrete roads). The work has been taken up by the BBMP on as many as 15 roads under Phase 1 of the project.
However, with the longevity of the white-topped roads being not less than 20 years, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has pointed out to difficulties in ascertaining if a pipeline needs repairs or if there is any leakage.
Many of the drinking water pipelines, especially in core city areas, are old and made of cast iron. This is the reason being cited to stress on the need to either shift the pipelines or upgrade them.
According to highly placed sources in the BBMP, during a inter-departmental coordination meeting, the water utility had submitted a letter claiming that there is no need to shift any utilities (water and underground drainage pipelines) on roads taken up under Phase 1 of the white-topping project. The utility had also maintained that on roads where they needed to be shifted, the pipelines could be laid in the buffer zones.
Sources said that the BBMP has made a provision for a one-metre buffer zone on either side of roads. This is so that the utilities could be shifted there, if need be. It may also be used to accommodate future lines, they added.
The issue was discussed recently during a project review meeting. The BBMP, during the meeting, claimed that if the BWSSB wants to shift the lines, the utility could do so at its own cost in the buffer zones on either side of roads. If it is not possible, the water utility could submit proposals for alternatives, the meeting decided.
BBMP sources pointed out that the water utility did not know where the pipelines are in many areas. It is during the project execution that pipelines have been found.
“The problem is not with distribution lines, as most of them are on either side of roads. The issue is with the main feeder lines,” they added.
BWSSB's engineer-in-chief Kemparamaiah said the utility was coordinating with the BBMP over shifting of utilities on roads taken up under white-topping and TenderSURE. On such roads, the BBMP is shifting the utilities under the BWSSB's supervision.
Work is slow
The white-topping of roads in the city was taken up nearly two years ago. The work is progressing at a snail's pace in several areas. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has begun the tender process for roads to be taken up under phase 2 of the project.
On Friday, reviewing the progress, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara maintained that the civic body should have first completed work under phase 1 before beginning the tender process for phase 2. He directed BBMP officials to complete the on-going white-topping work by May 2019. He said ₹9,978 crore had been sanctioned over the past three years for various works, including white-topping, solid waste management, stormwater drains, road and footpath repairs.
Citizens too are critical of the slow progress of work. Srinivas Alavilli from Citizens for Bengaluru said, “Before investing more money on the white-topping project, it would be prudent to wait and see how the roads hold up during the monsoon. A proper study should be made before taking up work on other roads.”
BBMP officials attributed the delay in the white-topping project to contractors not deploying sufficient men and machinery, apart from some procedural hurdles in getting permission from the traffic police to divert traffic on roads where work is to be taken up.
During a recent review meeting, the traffic police said that, if required, a dedicated police team with 25 personnel could be deployed to ensure that the white-topping work is completed smoothly.
Officials stated that the tenders for two of the eight packages under phase 2 of the project are yet to be approved by the government.