Potholed roads: BJP to ‘seek alms’ for repair work in Mysuru

Taking exception to the poor state of roads in Mysuru, the Bharatiya Janata Party has planned a protest in the city on Friday seeking alms from the public to “help fund road repairs works”.

At a press meet in the city on Wednesday, S.A. Ramdas, former MLA, lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for ignoring the development of his hometown Mysuru. He sought the immediate release of funds to take up the roadworks on a priority basis.

“Mysuru is going the Bengaluru way. The latter has the dubious distinction of being among the cities with the highest number of fatal road accidents. There is every indication that Mysuru is headed in that direction,” he said.

Though it was customary to release ₹10 crore towards roadworks ahead of Dasara, the local body only sought ₹3.6 crore this time. And though it has been almost a month since the festivities wrapped up, there are no signs of the works being executed, Mr. Ramdas added.

Over 95% of the roads in the city are in bad shape and though the Mysuru City Corporation has sought a grant of ₹20 crore, there has been no response from the government, the former MLA claimed. “While the Chief Minster has released ₹100 crore for Bengaluru, he has turned a blind eye to the condition of roads in Mysuru though he visits the city often,” he said.

Pointing out that private telecom companies tend to dig up roads for laying cables, Mr. Ramdas said the onus of repairing them was on these companies but there has not been a single example of them complying with the rules.

The BJP demanded ₹100 crore exclusively for road repair in Mysuru, which is a major tourist destination and sees nearly 2 million vehicles plying on the roads.