The rains are here and so are potholes and bad road stretches. What has only exacerbated the situation this season is the roadworks which are going on at a snail’s pace. The civic body attributes this to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant labour shortage.

A total of 22 roads are being redone under the TenderSURE model as part of the Smart City project. Work is under way on key sub-arterial roads such as Hayes Road, Infantry Road, Kamaraj Road, Magrath Road, Raja Ram Mohun Roy Road, Queens Road, and Lavelle Road. Key arterial roads such as Kanakapura Road, Mysuru Road, and Bannerghatta Road are riddled with potholes and bad stretches owing to the ongoing Namma Metro work. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is yet to start filling potholes on a mission mode despite the rains being here.

Manjunath C., a resident of north Bengaluru who works as a food delivery partner, said commuting in the city had become tougher with the rains. “A lot of important roads in the core city are dug up, especially the footpaths. So, when it rains, the mud is washed onto the roads, making them slushy. It is almost dangerous to ride a bike on these roads,” he said.

A severely damaged road at Bellandur.   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The ongoing roadworks were hit by the recent lockdown. While the work had stopped on most of these civic projects for over two months during the lockdown, now there is a severe labour shortage and the work is on only in one shift, sources said. “Ideally, work must be carried out in at least two shifts and the quantum of work done during night-time is substantially higher. But because of a severe paucity of labour, work has stopped during night-time, which will only drag on the project longer and also create hurdles for traffic movement during the day,” a senior civic official said, adding, “Ideally, work on these roads should have been taken up in batches. But work began on these roads simultaneously with an aim to finish at the earliest, but the lockdown and now the labour shortage has thrown a spanner in the works.”

The outer zones, especially the 110 villages, are affected by road-cutting work by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and restoration work has been a non-starter. Vishnu Prasad from Bellandur Forum said most of the roads in the area were dug up for laying water and sewage lines and had remained so for over three months now. “Work stopped during lockdown and now the BBMP has not taken up restoration work in earnest. When we approached the civic body, they blamed labour shortage for delay in starting the restoration work. The roads are unmotorable and the rains only make them worse. We risk our life riding two-wheelers on these roads,” he said.

Funds earmarked

BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar said that nearly ₹75 crore had been earmarked for restoration of roads dug up by the BWSSB and work would begin soon. “Each Assistant Engineer has been given ₹25,000 in an escrow account to fill potholes in their area. This account is replenished with more funds as and when the money is spent. Now that we have our own hot-mix plant, we are self-sufficient and work can be carried out at a faster pace,” he said. “We will review the ongoing road and civic works in the city and try to ensure the inconvenience caused to citizens is minimum during the rains,” he added.