The great pothole search: An exercise in futility?

The great pothole search: An exercise in futility?
Deccan Herald

What kind of a pothole, you may ask, will fit into the specifications of the BMP? The pothole has to be 20 cm in width, 20 cm in length and 5 cm deep or more.

The BMP has sure announced a reward of Rs 100 for anybody who identifies a pothole on the list of roads it has released. But conditions apply.

First, the pothole has to fit the measurements drawn up by the BMP, then it has to figure on the 142 roads listed by it and finally, it has to be within the BMP limits.

What kind of a pothole, you may ask, will fit into the specifications of the BMP? The pothole has to be 20 cm in width, 20 cm in length and 5 cm deep or more.

“The pothole should be such that it should make vehicles feel a jump, a thud, with high potential for accidents or damage,” said a BMP official.

And ever since the award was announced, the BMP zonal offices have been flooded with calls.

“But most calls are from CMC areas and areas whose roads have not been listed under the BMP’s pothole-free list. We have been convincing the callers that the roads mentioned by them would be developed in the next phase,” an official at one of the zonal offices said. He said his zone had received as many as 150 calls during the day.

Reality check

When Deccan Herald did a reality check, the reporter was given the same answer: That the road mentioned, Bannerghatta Road, did not come under the City limits and that it would be improved in the next phase.

At this rate, the whole exercise may turn out to be a wild goose chase for the public for these are the very roads that the BMP has declared as pothole free!

According to a BMP official, the aim of this exercise is to make the public realise that the BMP has been doing some work as against the perception of inactivity. “There is a perception that the BMP has done no work on Bangalore roads. This exercise is a kind of a reality check but if people do find potholes on roads listed to be pothole-free by us, they will be rewarded,” the official stated.