7,258 POTHOLES IN CITY: BBMP ‘CENSUS’

7,258 POTHOLES IN CITY: BBMP ‘CENSUS’
The civic body has set a week’s deadline to its zonal joint commissioners to make Bangalore road free of potholes
B K LAKSHMIKANTHA


If you thought Bangalore was riddled with lakhs of potholes, then you could be wrong. Or that’s what the BBMP seems to indicate. To put the record straight, it has conducted a ‘census’ of the number of potholes: The ‘official’ number stands at 7,258.
The BBMP on Tuesday maintained it has identified 7,258 potholes in its seven divisions spread across 741 sq km, but motorists and residents claim the number of potholes is three to four times higher than the official figure.
Almost every road has a pothole and with complaints from the public increasing, the BBMP went about the task of counting them.
Of the eight divisions, Bommanahalli division, which includes Arakere, Konanakunte, Puttenahalli and Bellandur areas, has the highest number of potholes with 2,108, followed by Mahadevapura division with 1,161 potholes. Mahadevapura division consists of KR Puram, Whitefield, Marathahalli and Ramamurthynagar.
The third highest is the east division with 1,132 potholes. It comprises areas like Koramangala, Jayamahal, JB Nagar, Banaswadi, Hebbal and Sarvagnanagar.
Dasarahalli division has the least number of potholes: 198.
The west, which includes Chamarajpet, Rajajinagar, Sanjaynagar, Gandhinagar, Yeshwanthpur, Chikpet, Malleswaram and Mahalakshmipuram has 942 potholes. The south, which includes Basavanagudi, Hanumanthnagar, Chandra Layout, Madiwala, Padmanabhanagar and Jayanagar, has 657 potholes. Rajarajeshwari Nagar has 720 potholes and Yelahanka 340 potholes.
ONE-WEEK DEADLINE
Following complaints of potholes in their locality pouring in every day, the BBMP commissioner launched a drive to fill potholes and set a week’s deadline for all the zonal joint commissioners to make roads free of potholes.
“We had clear instructions from the BBMP commissioner to find out the number of potholes in each area. Each ward Assistant Executive Engineer has roamed every road in his jurisdiction and counted them,” said B T Ramesh, joint commissioner, west division.
He said the BBMP personnel must take a photograph of the pothole before it is repaired and after it is asphalted. The same should be submitted to the divisional head, who will submit a report to the commissioner.
3,415 POTHOLES FILLED
The potholes-filling drive began on Monday. The BBMP claims it has filled 685 potholes in the west, 659 in east, 562 in south, 432 in Rajarajeshwarinagar, 149 in Dasarahalli, 439 in Mahadevapura, 439 in Bommanahalli and 50 in Yelahanka, totalling 3,415 potholes in one day.
“We are filling up potholes day and night. If the roads laid within a year are riddled with potholes, the contractor must fill them as he is responsible for its maintenance during that period,” said Bommanahalli division joint commissioner Shivabasavaiah.
On those roads laid more than a year ago, the BBMP will take up the pothole-filling work, he said.
“The potholes will be filled with stones and tar. If traffic is heavy, then we will take up work in the night. As the deadline is just a week, our men are working day and night,” said Shivabasavaiah.
NOT FILLED
Motorists in Bommanahalli need to muster all their skills to avoid potholes as the BBMP needs to fill 1,669 potholes in the area, while 722 potholes remain to be filled in Mahadevapura. Commuters who travel to Dasarahalli and south division can ride freely as there are only 49 and 95 potholes in the area. The east still has 473 potholes, Rajarajeshwarinagar 288 and west 257 potholes, which have yet to be filled.