The city’s roads that are not already dug up by various civic agencies or taken up for development mostly have potholes, much to the chagrin of motorists and pedestrians alike. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is the custodian of all roads and footpaths in the city, has till March 31 to complete the ongoing works.
This comes after a recent review of development works by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. At the meeting, which was attended by Ministers and MLAs, the CM directed the civic body to complete the works on a war footing.
In an internal circular, BBMP’s Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has directed officials to complete white-topping on 50 km of roads and TenderSURE development of 30 km that is under progress by the end of March.
That apart, the deadline for the ongoing development of 183 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads, and remodelling and strengthening of 30 km of stormwater drains is the end of February.
The civic chief has also directed officials to ensure that no road-cutting permission is given to anyone, including civic agencies such as Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL).
Work in 110 villages
Meanwhile, senior civic officials said that 2,845.61 km of roads in 110 villages coming in the newly added areas have been dug up by the BWSSB for laying drinking water and underground drainage pipelines. For the repair and development of the dug roads, the State Government has already released ₹998.32 crore. The civic body has already floated tenders and issued work orders to some contractors. While 717.25 km of road has been repaired, according to sources, they need attention due to unseasonal heavy rains last year. Now, Mr. Gupta has directed the Special Commissioner (Projects) and chief engineer concerned to draw up Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the redevelopment of these dug up roads.
Other roads
Of the 470 arterial and sub-arterial roads measuring 1,344.84 km, the Department of Road Infrastructure is maintaining 392 roads measuring 1,109.85 km. Of these, 315 roads measuring 870.42 km are said to be pothole-free. However, the remaining stretches on 77 roads measuring 239.44 km are in a bad condition, more so after the heavy rains that lashed in October and November. Mr. Bommai has given the BBMP 15 days to fill potholes across the city. Sources claimed there were potholes and bad reaches on 10,927 roads measuring 2,586.48 km.
Sources said that until December 31, 2021, officials filled potholes on 7,793 roads. Work on potholes and bad reaches on the remaining 3,134 roads are pending
