BCC caught in a tight pothole

BCC caught in a tight pothole
Times of India

In the DOCK

Name: Rame Gowda
Designation: Engineer-in-chief, Bangalore City Corporation
Date of birth: June 1, 1947
Qualification: BE (Civil) from Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur; MIE
Address: BCC main offices, N.R. Square, Bangalore

The sixth rank-holder in BE joined the BCC in 1972 as assistant engineer. Having worked his way up from the the ward level to the zonal division, Rame Gowda was promoted chief engineer seven years ago after a 31-year stint in the BCC.

Rame Gowda has been witness to many accolades and brickbats. While he has accepted credit for implementing several projects, he, in the same breath, has also faced people, elected representatives and the media’s ire on civic issues. Right from Sirsi circle flyover to Mehkri circle underpass to rejuvenation of lakes and redevelopment of Freedom Park, Rame Gowda is associated with each of them.

Currently, being the man at the helm of affairs in the engineering department, Rame Gowda is being grilled for the potholes galore on the city’s roads.

The spotlight is yet again on thousands of potholes dotting the city.Why does the BCC always come out with knee-jerk response, and not a lasting solution? S. Kushala buttonholes BCC engineer-in-chief Rame Gowda on potholes

One rain, and the city’s roads open up and potholes are all over the place. The pothole-filling drive is taken up only during rain. What is the status now?
The potholes are filled as and when they erupt. As i d e n t i f i e d , we have filled up more than 15,000 potholes in keeping with the deadline. Potholes and rain go hand in hand. Movement of heavy traffic also damages the road due to which potholes are caused. We have issued strict instructions to the area engineers to fill potholes as and when they are appear.

Despite BCC spending crores of rupees on potholefilling work every year, why cannot be Bangalore potholefree?
As I said, potholes keep appearing due to various reasons. It is like any other common disease such as cough or cold which needs to be treated at frequent intervals. During rain, the situation gets bad and the work is taken up briskly.

You mean there is no longterm solution? Will the city suffer every year during rain?
We’ve mooted a project to outsource road maintenance. This is a contract for a three-year period where contractors will maintain nearly 2,000 km of roads — potholes and road-cuttings will be repaired as and when they appear; shoulder-drains will be cleaned and pavements realigned. This project will change the face of the city’s roads as regular maintenance will be done. The project will be implemented shortly. This will be a boon for Bangalore.

After all the hype created about fining engineers for potholes, only seven engineers have so far been fined. The mayor’s diktat was that an engineer would be fined for every pothole found.
To start with, we’ve fined seven engineers to instil fear in them. We’ve inspected all potholes and bad roads based on photographs published in the media. Wherever we have found that the roads have really been neglected by engineers, such roads have been identified and the engineer concerned has been fined. The process does not stop here.


VERDICT: BENEFIT OF DOUBT

PROF. M.N. SREEHARI Road expert

Potholes do not surface in areas that receive heavy/medium rainfall. Potholes are caused due to poor-quality roads. If the camber and drainage are taken care of during road construction, the problem of potholes do not occur. The BCC should adopt scientific methods of filling potholes, otherwise the pothole-filling exercise will turn out to be a futile attempt. The work should be carried out before the onset of monsoon.

The area engineers should inspect the roads regularly and do the necessary corrections. The work has to be done in the ward level itself and why should the engineer-in-chief inspect the potholes? I blame the area engineers for their total callousness. Hence, the engineer-in-chief cannot be held solely responsible for the mess. However, all the explanation that the engineer-in-chief has given, if implemented in true spirit, has the potential to change the face of Bangalore’s roads.