Rains expose poor quality

Rains expose poor quality
Sandeep Moudgal, Sep 30, Bangalore:

The deadly mix of heavy rains, mounting vehicular traffic and poor construction quality has left several City roads in a dilapidated state.

Needless to say, incomplete works have only added to the mess and the accidents, many fatal, are proof enough.

From Hosur Road to Old Madras Road and from Bellary Road to Bannerghatta Road, all the stretches face the same problems of potholes and uneven works. “The Bannerghatta Road lies in a horrible condition. It is a back-breaking exercise to travel on it,” says H L Manohar, one among the numerous motorists who travel this stretch everyday.

Heavy rains that lashed the City over the past few weeks have worsened the situation and the number of craters and ditches have increased. As cursing motorists brave these craters, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is grappling with the “right time” to award a re-tender for a couple of these arterial roads.
The Palike officials squarely blame the current monsoon for the delay. “We are ready to call for a re-tender for Old Madras Road (OMR) and Mysore Road, but because of the rainy season there has been trouble in commissioning the work,” said a Palike official.

Stumbling block
If the rains are one reason, then the inaction of the Bangalore Water Supply and Seweage Board (BWSSB) in shifting a drinking water pipeline, is another reason for the delay in repairing OMR, according to the BBMP.

The stretch has been crying for attention. Motorists want some relief from the huge potholes, but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Palike officials state that no amount of pressure has yielded results from BWSSB to shift the pipeline. It is learnt that, recently the top brass in the BBMP made a midnight visit to the OMR stretch and discussed the problems in repairing it. “We intend to call for a tender for the OMR stretch till the NGEF railway gate,” the official said.

Incomplete Job
On Sunday, the BBMP began their work for the third time this year on the Sanjaynagar underpass. Work was carried out on top of the flyover leading to the Bangalore International Airport. While the work was completed in record time, it has been left to the motorists to “smoothen” the road.

“We have opened the road for vehicular movement for smoothening the road. It does not require any asphalting,” argued the official. Meanwhile, the residents in Sanjaynagar have complained that the roads in their vicinity were dug up and left unattended to over the past few weeks. “The Sanjaynagar Main Road was asphalted and prepared after a long battle with the BBMP. Now the road is dug up by some cable company and no one is taking responsibility,” said V Sathyamurthy, resident of Sanjayanagar.

* Hosur Road: Madivala Cross on Hosur Road has series of potholes to be negotiated by motorists. Buses, trucks and two-wheelers have to swerve to avoid the ditches in the middle of the street near Total Mall.
* Bannerghatta Road: From the Cemetery to Diary Circle, motorists have a hard time in avoiding the ditches. Two sewers along the road have been perennially overflowing causing harm to the road near Sagar Apollo Hospital.
* Mysore Road: One of the worst roads to negotiate, Mysore Road has several bad stretches near the Mysore Road old tollgate, Vijayanagar.
* CMH Road: The on-going Metro work has virtually narrowed the CMH road stretch to a single lane on both sides. But even these have been neglected and lie in tatters due to movement of heavy vehicles. Craters were found on both sides of the road.
* Magadi Road: The stretch seems to be in a better condition than others, with only patches of asphalt having been lost due to the rains.
* Bellary Road: While the road has been by and large maintained by the BBMP, the entrance to Sanjaynagar has been virtually forgotten. While works were conducted on the flyover linking the International Airport to the city four days ago, it is only rubble and dust that is holding the work together.