BCC song: yehi hai potholes, aha!

Times of India

One, two, three, four ...200. Counting potholes on Bangalore’s roads is a back-breaking job. Perhaps, the BCC engineers will
find it simpler and easier to pay the penalty than go potholing! Imagine 200 potholes in a 10-km radius. Which means the BCC engineers will have to cough up Rs 2 lakh if mayor Ramesh sticks to his threat of imposing a Rs 1,000-fine for every unfilled pothole in Bangalore.

There are no smooth rides in Bangalore at all — despite pothole deadlines imposed by the mayor, the BCC commissioner and even the chief minister. The Times of India team took a pothole count on some of Bangalore’s main roads and ended up having a bonerattling ride. From craters that could put the moon to shame to smaller ones that can send a shudder through motorists bones, many of Bangalore ’s potholes remain intact. By the way,

The Times of India team ventured only on to roads considered the pride of the City — what lies in store on bustling inner roads could well be another story. Here’s a sample of the pothole count on some key roads: Raj Bhavan-Bellary Road and back: There are 32 potholes in this nearly 20-km stretch. That’s one and a half potholes per kilometre. They pockmark the road up to the Hebbal flyover. At Mehkri Circle alone there are three big potholes, but commuters are so used to them they ride around it almost instinctively. Near the Cauvery theatre, in a stretch of less than 100 yards, there are three more. Kensington Road- Old Madras Road: Along this stretch, till the Isolation Hospital, there are 19 large and small potholes. Kensington Road has a dug up portion measuring about 4 ft by 3 ft left untarred that is a major hurdle. CMH Road-Old Madras Road- M.G. Road: A cool Rs 29,000 is what the Mayor can net if he taxes his engineers Rs 1,000 per pothole on this 29-pothole stretch. The Ulsoor bus stop itself has a major laceration measuring about 10 ft by 4 ft.

The stretch opposite the BSNL’s Telephone House. The Press Club is located just beside it. This stretch is in need of a road! Vittal Mallya Road: It might be a short stretch, but the potholes on this road are countless. The entrance to the road from the Cubbon Park side is just one big pothole for nearly 100 metres.St Mark’s Road : Bothsides of the road are a nightmare. Potholes dot the stretch all along. Part of the road may be aa one-way but not the potholes. A couple of potholes are real nasty too. Hayes Road: This smaller stretch of road has four conspicuous potholes. The last portion of the road - as it joins Richmond Road - is a complete mess. Stagnant water from an overflowing drain collects here hiding the pothole. Lavelle Road: A quarter of Lavelle Road is dug up and the portion remains un-asphalted. Engineers must be wishing ‘holeheartedly’ that the potholes disappear overnight. What will the mayor do then?