Potholes on Bengaluru’s roads are a perpetual reality, and the city’s traffic police have now taken it upon themselves to fill 360 killer potholes in order to avoid any accidents. On the night of April 23, a 28-year-old man riding a bike along Varthur Road tried to avoid a pothole, bumped into a car and later died the next day due to his injuries.
With the city’s civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) running short of funds to fill up potholes, the traffic police have now started a pothole filling drive.
According to data obtained from the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), Cubbon Park, Ulsoor, High Grounds, Ashoknagar, Wilson Garden, Shivajinagar, Kadugondana Halli, Corporation Circle, Jeevan Bhima Nagar, Adugodi, Electronic City, HSR Layout, Old Airport Road, Hulimavu, Hebbal, RT Nagar, Yelahanka, Chikkajala, Malleshwaram, RMV extension, Malleswaram, Rajajinagar, Yeshwanthpur, Peenya, Jalahalli, Upparpet, Chikpet, Vijaynagar, Magadi Road, Kamakshipalya, Byatarayanapura, City Market, Kengeri, VV Puram, Basavanagudi and Kumara Swamy Layout have been identified as areas with killer potholes.
“The BBMP is waiting for the state government to grand funds for road repair works. In order to avoid any more accidents, we have asked BBMP contractors, who have already started work in a few areas to help fill up potholes. The traffic police are also filling up potholes in the rest of the areas. The work should be completed by Thursday,” a traffic police official said.
BBMP figures state that there are 93,000 roads in Bengaluru spanning 14,000 km. Of these, 7 km of roads in South zone, 20.78 km in West Zone, 80.55 km in East Zone, 20.6 km in Bommanahalli Zone, 44.7 km in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Zone, 47.56 km in Dasarahalli Zone, 37.9 km in Mahadevapura zone and 56.92 km in Yelahanka Zone require repairs.
“After Deputy Chief Minister Parameshwara held a meeting with BBMP officials, all the Joint Commissioners of every zone have been instructed to begin road repair works immediately. However, BBMP is waiting for approval from the government to sanction funds for the road repair works currently,” said BBMP Chief Engineer Venkatesh.
The civic body has now allotted a designated number for each of the 93,000 streets, including arterial and non-arterial roads, and the respective zonal commissioners will have to ensure that all the roads are in a good condition before the monsoon sets in.
“Currently, there is no time to identify how many potholes are there. Instead of doing that, the joint commissioners are just identifying the damaged roads based on the serial numbers and they will carry out work accordingly. In most of the areas, especially in Dasarahalli, RR Nagar, South and East zones, the roads have been damaged due to the work being conducted by the BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board), which is laying sewage lines. In some areas, the GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited) pipeline work is being carried out. So the roads will be fixed accordingly,” a senior BBMP official said.