Residents of Bengaluru had only just heaved a sigh of relief after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) got to work repairing the large number of potholes that appeared on the city’s roads due to the heavy rains during monsoon. But this relief may be short-lived.
With the North East monsoon officially setting in on the Tamil Nadu coast, pothole worries are beginning to re-appear. This comes even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced, in Mysuru on Monday, an extension to the deadline for filling up potholes to November 6.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who had earlier in October given an assurance that potholes would be filled within a fortnight, said authorities were unable to adhere to the deadline in view of continuous rainfall.
Mayor R. Sampath Raj, however, said, “90% of the 30,000 potholes that had appeared after heavy rain pounded the city for around two-and-a-half-months had been covered. We will be able to cover the remaining ones within a week. We have not been able to cover the 10% as they are mostly on the major roads and the traffic flow is continuous.”
But the palike has very little time. G.S. Srinivasa Reddy, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre, said that the North East monsoon hitting the Tamil Nadu coast last week indicates that the city will receive rainfall soon. “Rain is expected in south interior Karnataka in Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru shortly. There is another cyclonic circulation forming following the present one, which is expected to move north presently. If that moves west, the city will again receive heavy rain,” he said, adding in November, the city is sure to get at least two good spells of rain.
What does that mean for the city’s roads?
B.S. Prahallad, Chief Engineer (major roads), BBMP, conceded that cold mix was used to fill many potholes, as they couldn't use hot mix during rain and even immediately after when the ground was still wet. Cold mix is only a temporary fix as it has a very short shelf life and unlikely to withstand heavy rain. “To make the cold mix withstand heavy rain, we will try to identify such potholes and rework them with a layer of hot mix on the cold mix,” he said.
The Mayor added that the BBMP is prepared to handle more rainfall now as Bengaluru’s monsoon infrastructure was being improved up through desilting and other works. “But potholes also develop due to other reasons, such as heavy movement of vehicles and ongoing metro work. We have to keep working,” he said.
