It is like driving/ riding on a dirt track for motorists taking the Ulsoor Road, off Dickenson Road here. The road is riddled with potholes; some so big that they resemble craters.
For the past several months, the condition of the road has steadily been deteriorating. S. Vishwa (name changed), a resident of Ulsoor, has to take the pothole-ridden road twice a day. “It takes at least 10 minutes to cross that stretch. The road after the signal is also in a bad shape,” he said. Another motorist said that the potholes had been filled with gravel and crushed stone. This posed a danger to two-wheeler riders. “The stones often ricochet when cars and other four-wheelers go over them. These can seriously injure someone,” he said.
If driving/ riding is difficult during day time, it is even more so during night time. A cobbler, who works at the end of the road, said that he had witnessed several motorists losing their balance while riding over the bad patch. “Often, the potholes are patched up. But these patchworks do not last. In just a week’s time, the potholes re-emerge. I do not remember the road being pothole-free,” he said.
The road is less than a kilometre away from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s East zone office. BBMP’s East zone chief engineer K.S. Krishnaswamy admitted that the road condition was poor. He, however, blamed the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for condition of the road. “There is a water pipeline running below the road. Due to pressure on the road caused by the movement of vehicles, the pipeline gets damaged, due to which there is water seepage. This affects the road,” he said.
He said that the craters near the signal at the end of the road (near the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. office) were caused by BWSSB. “The BWSSB officials, without taking permission from the BBMP, took up repairs of the pipeline and dug the road. After the work, they have not restored the road,” he said.
When contacted, BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief T. Venkatraju said he would look into the matter.
