A question of potholes - Interview with Mayor Ramesh

A question of potholes - Interview with Mayor Ramesh
The Asian Age

As the condition of city roads deteriorates, The Bangalore Age decides to put mayor P.R. Ramesh on the spot with some sharp questions on what the corporation is doing about it. The BA zeroed in on the mayor on the potholes that fill the roads.

1. The pothole drive carried out recently by the BCC was supposed to have covered all areas. But you still find potholes on major roads of the city. Why?
Mayor: I admit we could not fill all the potholes, but that is because of the monsoons. Still we have managed to fill a majority of them. I am saying this on the basis of the report given to me. We have managed to fill 90 per cent of the potholes.

2. When you gave the job of filling the potholes to the BCC engineers, how did you make sure that they did it?
Mayor: I held daily meetings with the BCC chief engineer and executive engineers to monitor the progress (of the work done) during the pothole filling drive. Despite this some thick skinned engineers have not been able to meet the deadline. I will fine them.

3. What has prevented you from inspecting the city roads after the completion of the pothole filling drive?
Mayor: Nothing has prevented me so far from going on the city rounds. But after the deadline ended I was preoccupied with official business, BCC council meetings and other developmental works. But soon I will be undertaking a ward inspection drive to check how many potholes have been filled and how many are not.

4. How much money has been spent on filling potholes?
Mayor: We spent about Rs 1.5 crores to fill nearly 8,000 potholes in the city.

5. Why do you make promises that you cannot fulfil?
Mayor: I feel that I have made an honest effort to fulfil my promise as 90 per cent of the potholes have been filled. But many potholes have emerged again due to the rains. And till the rains are over, we cannot do anything about them.