All major roads have to be rebuilt, says Mayor

All major roads have to be rebuilt, says Mayor
The Hindu

BANGALORE, OCT. 5. The Mayor, P.R. Ramesh, today admitted that many city roads were in poor condition after the rains and said they were not strong enough to take the current traffic density. Bangalore had 20 lakh vehicles, he added.

Participating in a meet-the-press programme organised by the Bangalore Press Club, Mr. Ramesh said resurfacing roads was not enough, and roads had to be re-engineered to withstand rain and traffic. "We are in talks with a Mumbai-based firm to use their water-proof product for filling potholes, but the cost will be high,'' he said.

Old roads

There were nearly 4,000 km of roads under the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), and some were 50 to 100 years old and laid when the traffic density was much less. Besides the vehicles within the city, thousands of others entered Bangalore every day from the smaller municipalities nearby.

The Mayor blamed the various utility agencies for periodically digging up roads and pavements, and felt permanent "ducting" could be a solution. If Mahatma Gandhi Road could withstand traffic and rain it was because it was built on a strong foundation. The time might have come to rebuild all large roads from the foundation as a long-term solution, he said.

`Deadline'

Asked about the September 27 "deadline" for filling potholes, Mr. Ramesh replied: "It was to make them (engineers) accountable and it was not a threat... They should do their work diligently. That's more important than levying fines (on engineers).'' He added: "We have to examine why so many roads develop potholes and how they can be prevented.''

Over-bridges

The Mayor said the railway over-bridge at Lingarajapuram would be ready for traffic by October-end and that at Banaswadi by the end of March 2005. The multi-level car parking facilities on J.C. Road and K.G. Road were expected to be ready by November first week. The work on the parking lot on Magarath Road was progressing.