Pothole free roads still a distant dream

Pothole free roads still a distant dream
Vijay Times

EVEN as the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) claims that it is carrying out road repair works at a brisk pace, residents and motorists are of the opinion that some roads in the City have to be totally relaid.

Motorists blame the apathy of officials and the fury of the Rain Gods for the pathetic situation that persists. On a humourous note, some claim that in many areas, they require a pair of magnifying glasses to spot the road amidst potholes.

Some of the roads in the City have developed huge craters. These craters, with a depth of at least one feet and with width varyin anywhere between three feet and 10 feet, pose a serious threat to motorists.

For instance, the 13th Main Road in BTM Layout connecting Hosur Road to Bannerghatta Road via Bilekalli is so bad that it is next to impossible to use the road.

The whole of 13th Main Road is full of potholes. However , a particular stretch, almost kilometre in length, is so bad that there sign of the road having been asphalted. What’s more, in some places, the road has been eroded to such an extent that even th jelly , which generally forms the base of a road, has disintegrated.

If the potholes are one problem, the dust is another . People and shop owners staying near these roads curse their fate as the dust e nating from the roads, whenever vehicles pass by , pollutes the atmosphere. The amount o dust that is whipped up is so much that t colour of leaves on trees in the vicinity changed from green to red.

K umar , a bakery owner , said that the road had been in the same pathetic state for the last seven months.

"The situation worsens whenever it rains. The potholes, filled with water , become a Khedda (big pits dug to catch elephants) for motorists," he said.

Thanks to the construction of the J ayadeva Circle flyover , the number of heavy vehicles using this road has increased making the situation even more grave.

BTM Layout Corporator K Devadas said they would start repairing the road by the first week of J anuary .

But until then, the locals will have to suffer in silence.