A rough ride

A rough ride


Johnlee AbrahamFirst Published : 12 Oct 2009 04:58:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 12 Oct 2009 06:58:34 AM IST
BANGALORE: Bad roads, especially potholed ones, are fast becoming a part of “namma Bengaluaru’s” vibrant life with the civic authorities playing the blame game.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) attributes the potholes to “chronic leakage”, while the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) blames it on the poor quality roads. The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) points fingers at the haphazard digging by telephone operators, but the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) swears that it sticks to government guidelines while digging roads.
“Chronic leakage in old water supply and sewerage pipelines is the main reason for potholes in the city,” said BBMP engineer-in-chief AK Gopala Swamy. A BWSSB official, however, said, “BBMP should notify BWSSB of the leakages damaging the roads.
BWSSB would take immediate measures to solve the problem.” There are about 8,000 km of old BWSSB lines in the city, which are prone to leakages, but the organisation would always make sure that repair work is carried out within hours of being notified, he added.
Swamy also blamed BESCOM, BSNL and private telephone operators, who dig the road. Once their work is over, they leave the road in a damaged condition, he said.
BSNL principal general manager Shubhendu Ghosh countered, “We are a government agency and there is perfect coordination with BBMP.” The digging is done with BBMP’s permission and according to the guidelines, he said.
BESCOM MD Tushar Girinath also pointed at the haphazard digging of roads by telephone operators. “It is usually the telephone operators who do these unauthorised digging and later leave the road in a damaged state.
If repair work is going on, often it is wrongly assumed that it is being done by BESCOM. However, this is not the case as even telephone operators carry out maintenance work,” he said.
“BESCOM does methodical digging to carry out its repair work and according to the new directives, would also be responsible for leaving the road in a good condition once their work is done,” Girinath said.