whitetopping

Bengaluru

BBMP

CBD

BTP

.

By Akhila DamodaranThe Phase Three ofwill begin after a month, says BruhatMahanagara Palike () Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. The third phase will include whitetopping of 120 km of roads covering the Central Business District () such as MG Road, Cunningham Road and Cubbon Road.The Commissioner says, “It was announced in the budget. The government has also approved and now issued the order. Rs 146 crore has been approved for the third phase. The contractor needs to submit bank guarantees and other formalities.” He also added that the civic body will hold a meeting with the Bengaluru Traffic Police () on how to manage traffic as the third phase includes the CBD area. “We will decide how to manage the traffic and the exact time to begin the process,” he says.However, KT Nagaraj, BBMP chief engineer (projects), says he hasn’t received the government order yet. “There are other formalities that have to be completed as well. Once we get the order, we need to get a letter of acceptance from the contractor and draw an agreement for the work. Then, we will issue the work order. Only then can we confirm who will be the contractor,” he says.Ashish Verma, associate professor, civil engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), states that his views about the large scale whitetopping project have been consistent. He says the civic body has not clearly spelled out the agenda for the project. “There are several roads that are earmarked for various projects such as an elevated corridor or Metro line and also approved by the government. Would that mean that the BBMP will again dig the roads for these projects? There is no proper coordination between the agencies and this would disrupt the entire traffic movement and management,” he adds. Professor MN Sreehari, traffic advisor and consultant, agrees with Verma that it would affect the traffic flow drastically. “Every hour, 6,000 vehicles pass through MG Road,” he says, adding that the BBMP should either stop the whitetopping project or adopt new technology to complete the work and open the road for traffic during a day.Sreehari says the civic body should employ contractors who are aware of new technology. “There are additives and chemicals available to the construction industry that hastens the curing period. The BBMP need not use the gunny bags for 21 days to cure. Why should the common people suffer? Instead of digging and spoiling the good roads by whitetopping it, they can instead lay roads in the areas which do not have any,” he adds.