The city roads are battered and bruised even before the monsoon has set in. With the city receiving heavy rains in April and May, roads are ridden with potholes, making commuting difficult.
BBMP officials claim that there are 2,631 potholes in the city. BBMP Administrator T.M. Vijay Bhaskar has identified 52 officials and directed them to conduct a comprehensive audit of potholes.
A report by the Engineering Division was submitted to BBMP Commissioner G. Kumar Naik on Thursday. It states that 910 potholes had come up on roads that are still under the defect liability period. Sources said that if there is any defect/pothole on the road when it is under the defect liability period, the contractor is liable to repair the same at his/her cost.
The report also states that there are 1,721 potholes on other roads, mainly arterial and sub-arterial ones. Sources said that a tender to fill the potholes on these roads would be called soon.
Mr. Bhaskar said that they would now look into the reasons for potholes, including whether they was caused due to digging by other agencies such as Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom). The quantum of fine would be decided after a detailed discussion, he said.
The BBMP had earlier stated that a fine of Rs. 2,000 would be levied on contractors for each pothole.
Mr. Naik said that the BBMP is now coming down to numbers to ensure better transparency and added that monitoring would be both quantitative and qualitative.
