Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government would constitute a task force to fill potholes in Bengaluru and come up with a permanent maintenance system for roads in the city.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, holding a press meet after visiting flood-hit areas in the city on Wednesday (May 22), said according to the latest survey, the ward roads have 5,500 potholes, and arterial and sub-arterial roads have 557 potholes. There are about 67 bad patches that need to be fixed. “I have directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials to swing into action immediately to fill potholes within a month,” he said.
He said while some potholes were present even before the beginning of pre-monsoon showers, some surfaced after the rain. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who was also present during the meeting, said citizens can take pictures of potholes and post them on the Sahaya application. He said even traffic police can inform the BBMP about the same.
Issue of flooding
Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah visited many flood-hit spots and gave a slew of directions to resolve flooding issues. He said he had directed officials to desilt stormwater drains, complete ongoing work quickly, cut dry trees and branches, and fix footpath issues.
Both Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar visited the places after seeking permission from the State Election Commission.
The CM further said, there are about 860 km of stormwater drains in Bengaluru, and during his previous term as CM, he had cleared encroachment of 491 km. During the last BJP government, action was initiated to clear encroachment of 195 km. For this, ₹1,800 crore will be spent. Now, about 174 km are remaining for clearance, and for this, the government has asked ₹2,000 crore from the World Bank, he added. About 12.15 km of drain encroachment clearance is pending as the matter is pending before the civil court, he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said a drain near Gali Anjaneya Temple overflows as silt has settled in it and directed officials to build an alternative drain. At Kodichikkanahalli, the CM gave directions for pumping out the water and channelling it to Madiwala Lake. He said BBMP, BWSSB, BDA, and Bescom should work in tandem to fix flooding issues.
He said there were about 400 lakes in the city and now many have vanished due to encroachment. The government will initiate action to clear encroachment and desilt lakes, he said. When asked about BBMP polls, he said the government would look into it after the model code of conduct is over.
