Road repair stuck in potholes

Road repair stuck in potholes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: ‘All potholes will be filled in 15 days’. This might seem a promise regularly made and forgotten. But the one the CM made more than 15 days back seems to have filled some potholes. And the public response has been mixed.
People in a few areas are happy as they have seen the craters being filled up. But some still wonder if potholes are here to stay. Experts say mere promises won’t fill potholes but action on the ground regularly will.
As per BBMP records, there were more than 15,000 potholes in the city last year. Of these, 8,855 were filled by November 15. Nearly 770 potholes were filled up across the city on Saturday and the work is on in various zones. What worries residents is that work is moving at snail’s pace. “Everytime such a promise is made, it is normal for people to expect an overnight remedy to the bruised roads. This time, almost all the arterial roads in the city have been made potholefree. However, this does not include the open manholes and pits due to leaking water,’’ BBMP commissioner S Subramanya told The Times Of India.
Potholes on roads, their emergence and filling is not an overnight drive, rather a continuous process, says traffic expert M N Sreehari. Good roads, if well constructed, should have at least 3-5 years’ life without potholes. Having observed roads in many states and countries now, he says the main problem with Bangalore roads is good design but poor construction and lack of quality control.
Potholes occur due to three main causes — poor construction, improper drainage and not having cambers for draining water off the road surface. PEOPLESPEAK
V Satyamurthy, president, Sanjaynagar Residents’ Welfare Association, says roads in Sanjaynagar, particularly in AECS Layout, CIL Layout, RMV II stage, II Block are still in bad shape. Every cross has more potholes than the main road.
T N Lakshman Rao from Rajajinagar echoes him. “Even during the Janaspandana programme held recently, BBMP promised a few road works. But nothing has started yet,’’ he says.
But there are a few happy ones as well. Ajith a resident of Indiranagar, now has no problems with potholes. “The double road is neatly done. I am more than satisfied plying on these roads now,’’ he says.
“No place in Bangalore is pothole-free,’’ says K S Diwkara from Puttenahalli but he is happy seeing them in lesser number. However, it’s the snail’s pace of progress that worries him.