Road cutting adds to pothole misery

Road cutting adds to pothole misery
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Now, it is not just potholes appearing on the roads, trenches due to road cutting by BESCOM, BSNL and other optical fibre laying companies and cellphone operators that are worsening the condition of the roads.

Despite a ban on road cutting announced by the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC), these agencies are relentlessly digging away, claiming to have obtained permits much before the ban. With incessant rains, the roads have turned perilous, especially at night.

All these road cutting have weakened the roads. Asphalt caving in on several roads supporting heavy traffic is a common sight. The conditions are getting worse by the day but BCC states no repairs can begin till the rains stop.

What is disturbing is that there no sign around these trenches cautioning people of the danger. While they remain uncovered and unattended for days, the trenches get filled with rainwater and hence, riskier to the unsuspecting motorist or pedestrian.

Even after the ban, road cutting is on in front of the ITC Infotech near Cox Town. BCC Engineer-in-Chief Rame Gowda has failed to stop the digging that continued on Tuesday too.

Gowda told this website's newspaper the road cutting was being carried out by BESCOM which had acquired permit four months back. He said that BESCOM was asked to stop the work immediately. He said if it failed to abide by the direction, it would be fined.

What is more interesting is that according to Gowda’s subordinate executive engineer Syed Abdul Hafeez, it was Gowda who gave BESCOM the permission to cut road.

Srirampuram roads under the management of executive engineer M.V. Prabhakar are in a mess. Roads in central Gandhinagar area also under his management tell a similar story. The B.B. Naidu Road in 1st Cross and Y. Ramachandra Reddy Road are but a few examples of how public life can go out gear.

An asphalted part on Gandhigrama 2nd main road, opposite Malleswaram railway station managed by executive engineer V.J. Saikumar has collapsed, creating a huge trench. The drainage pipe, around 10 feet deep under the road, poses a threat to motorists and passersby.

All that the BCC has to say about these is that the rains hindering their work.

‘‘When Rome was burning, Nero was fiddling’’ may be apt for outgoing Mayor P.R. Ramesh. While the whole city is on a warpath with the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) over the issue of bad roads, the Mayor feels these craters are common during rains.

Instead of addressing it, he chose to plead for a separate legislation for the city to make life better for an average Bangalorean, at a meet-the-press programme organised by the Bangalore Press Club here on Tuesday.

Ramesh reasoned, the existing provisions of the Karnataka Municipalities and Corporations Act (KMCA) failed to address specific needs of the technopolis.

KMCA makes provisions for the entire state while the issues before BCC are too special for such a generalised approach, he said. He further said the government must take up initiatives to enhance resource generation for BCC. Reacting to questions on the all-pervasive potholes, he put the blame squarely on the burgeoning traffic and heavy rainfall. He said most roads were 40-50 years old and had not been designed for heavy traffic. The existing road surfaces should be excavated and the roads strengthened from the level of subgrade with proper camber, he said.

On his achievements the past year, he said BCC saved Rs 5 crore practising fuel economy. Introducing yoga in BCC schools and measures to harvest rainwater were some of his other achievements for which he complimented himself without as much batting an eyelid on the pothole problem or citizens’ protest against BCC apathy.