Balagere-Panathur main road damaged just 42 days after renovation due to shoddy BWSSB work

BENGALURU: The Balagere-Panathur main road, which leads to several apartments and dozens of IT firms, has exposed the shoddy work of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). Just 42 days after the road was renovated, the asphalt has peeled off, developed undulation and a part of the stretch has sunk in.

As per the residents, the board, after the installation of huge sewage pipes in the centre of the road, restored it as per norms. But due to poor execution, the water seeped during the pre-monsoon showers in the last few days, exposing the substandard work by the civic agency.

BBMP officials said out of a 400-metre stretch from the railway underbridge at Panathur up to Disha Apartments, 20 metres has sunk in and there is undulation. The reason for this is the absence of side drains in the road stretch up to the railway underbridge, and if it rains heavily, the entire stretch will go for a toss and lead to a huge traffic gridlock.

“The road will remain a headache for motorists as there is no side drain network here and the stretch will flood. A few landowners here have to give up land for transferable development rights (TDR) or agree to cash compensation. This issue was escalated to the BBMP project commissioner level six months ago. At present, part of the road belongs to a private party and if they decide to close, then travel on this road will not be possible,” said an engineer.

Echoing the same, BWSSB Executive Engineer Venugopal said the board is only concerned with sewage and water lines and construction of side drains is BBMP’s responsibility. “We had cut the road, and after installation of sewage drain pipes, covered the area and tarred it,” he said.

The locals said once the road is cut open, to fix it, aggregates and cold mix have to be laid in good quantity. But here, the BWSSB just used loose soil and added a few inches of tar and the road was damaged in the light rain.