Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

High Court

potholes

1. No money for road maintenance

Following the HC order, BBMP did a rushed job on BTS Main Road in Wilson Garden on Thursday morning; BM returned to the spot in the evening and found that the cement filling had more or less been washed away

2. No work during rains

3. Poor quality control

Lavelle Road

4. Multiple agencies cutting roads

Bengaluru

5. The sheer volume of traffic



Sampath Raj

By Manoj SharmaLack of funds, too many vehicles are just some of the reasons why our city appears to have been ditchedThe cover-up that the(BBMP) has resorted to after the’s rap is worse than make-up -- one spell of rains and the ugly truth came tumbling out.The BBMP has been working at a frantic pace to meet the court’s deadline – which was extended till Monday – of filling up all thein the city. But a closer look at the workings of the Palike shows that there are mainly five reasons why Bengaluru’s roads are perennially pock-marked.The BBMP has a total budget of Rs 9,325 crore for the entire city, but hardly any money to maintain its roads. According to BBMP, most of the road-laying work is taken up under Chief Minister Nagarothana grants (which has been allocated Rs 120 crore in the 2018-19 budget). That apart, Rs 690 crore was allocated this year for new roads. Maintenance of roads is done in two ways: a) through defect liability period (DLP) of three years wherein the contractor has to fix problems in new roads; and (b) through the Python machine for which the BBMP has an annual contract of Rs 6 crore with a company.“Bengaluru has about 14,000 km of roads. Considering that even 10 per cent of roads are damaged, it will take engineers 20 years with that budget to fix all the potholes on 1,400 km,” said a BBMP Chief Engineer, underscoring the need for a fatter budget to fix the city’s roads.“PWD and NHAI roads are far better because a particular amount is allocated per kilometer of the road under them. Though we have sent multiple proposals to BBMP administration, our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” he continued.Although the city’s roads suffer maximum damage during the monsoon, it’s ironic that 90 per cent of bitumen plants are shut and emergency repairs cannot be carried out (Bengaluru has at least 20 such plants).“The concrete mix used in the bitumen plant gets wet in the rain and most plants remain shut till Ayudha Pooja (which mostly comes in October, after the monsoon has retreated). This is the reason that it is difficult to fill up potholes during rains since the raw material is not available. It is pertinent to note here that the district administration has cancelled licences of many bitumen plants in the city, thus further aggravating the shortage during the rains,” the engineer said.It’s also the way the BBMP assesses quality of roads that is problematic. “Once the road is completed, we run quality control checks as we cannot release payments without that. However, this is limited to a one-time check; if the road peels off soon, it is covered under DLP but there is no way of judging how the road deteriorated over the years. There should be regular checks for quality,” another senior BBMP official said on condition of anonymity.OFC (optical fibre cable) operators, BWSSB, Bescom, GAIL, private individuals connecting their homes to sewer lines… everybody and his uncle seems to be cutting roads in Bengaluru.“We have identified 429 areas where the road is damaged due to leakage fromWater Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) pipeline. When water leakage takes place, the road’s surface becomes weak and potholes begin to develop. But when the BWSSB takes up repair work, it digs up the road and fills it with soil and jelly (instead of properly compacting the road and laying several layers of bitumen on top of it). The surface becomes even more dangerous; akin to a pit. Bescom does a similar thing while laying electricity pipelines,” he said.Roads stretching over 14,000 km, and 70+ lakh vehicles. It’s easy math if you want to figure out why our roads seem to be imploding.“Around 500 vehicles occupy every km of road if you go by the numbers alone. This means that there is a vehicle every two metres. That might not seem so bad if you think all roads have two lanes, but bear in mind that most roads in Bengaluru are either very narrow or under repair/ taken up for widening. If we don’t widen the roads to cope with the existing number of vehicles, then the problem will only worsen. Many people think that by widening the road we are making it easier for the vehicle count to go up but that is not the case. There has to be a minimum space between vehicles to ensure their safety,” the engineer said.Mayor R, however, is unimpressed. He feels that Palike engineers are trying to hide their shortcomings by resorting to ‘reasons’. “They didn’t send a single letter in this regard. We have conducted enough zonal meetings where they could have brought it up, but didn’t. Moreover, this is not the right time to make such claims. The High Court has asked us to fill all the potholes and I expect the engineers to follow the diktat,” he said.Potholes will be filled since the HC’s sword hangs over the Palike’s head. But how long will the filling last, that is the question.