Even as Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is struggling hard to come out of the garbage mess, the pothole-ridden arterial roads across the city, particularly in the central business district, have been posing challenges to motorists, the traffic police as well as the civic agency. As a result, vehicles move bumper-to-bumper in the central business district, particularly in the Majestic area, where the problem is more pronounced.
The choked Sangolli Rayanna Junction (Khoday’s Junction) through which hundreds of BMTC and KSRTC buses pass toward Rajajinagar, goes out of bounds during evening peak hours. Similarly, vehicles bound for Majestic are piled up till Sujatha cinema on Vatal Nagaraj Road.
This is attributed to bad patches of carriageways on the road connecting Sangolli Rayanna Junction and Link Road. Ramesh, a BMTC driver, said that it takes at least half-an-hour to reach Okalipuram from the Kempegowda Bus Station during evening peak hours. Roads around Majestic, including Platform Road leading to Malleswaram, Cottonpet Main Road toward Mysore Road, and K.G. Road toward Majestic are full of potholes.
Overstretched
The pathetic condition of roads has increased the burden on the traffic policemen who are finding it difficult to manage the increased number of vehicles.
“The other day vehicles piled up on the Mahatma Gandhi Road because of water-logging near Minsk Square on Raj Bhavan Road. Water-logging coupled with potholes on this stretch had had a cascading effect on traffic movement,” said M. Abdulla Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
Mr. Saleem told The Hindu that he had written to the palike identifying at least 11 arterial roads which require immediate attention.
They include K.G. Road between Kempegowda Junction and Elite Hotel Junction, Minsk Square, Sangolli Rayanna Junction, Kino Junction, J.C. Road, Mr. Saleem said.
Poor quality
“The condition of roads shows the quality of work carried out by the palike. It did not rain heavily this time, otherwise the roads would have been in deplorable condition,” said the former Mayor P.R. Ramesh.
Mr. Ramesh said that the poor condition of the roads was also due to the palike’s failure to strengthen the roads in accordance with the increase in the volume of traffic over the years.
“Except laying fresh layers of bitumen here and there, there were no concerted efforts to strengthen the foundation of the roads, by way of reconstruction,” he said.
In the recent years, the palike has not accorded to enough priority to shoulder-drains and rainwater chambers abutting roads.
Water-logging will affect the road surface and hence the poor condition of the roads, Mr. Ramesh said. He said that the thousands of crores of rupees spent on roads have been washed away in the drains, he said.
