Concrete plan for city, but where is the money?

Concrete plan for city, but where is the money?
Bengaluru,


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The Chief Minister has put for ward an ambi tious proposal to construct concrete roads in the city as they last longer and are more durable. But does any civic body have the funds to execute the plan? What happens to the roads that were asphalted recent ly? Experts say concretising the 11 proposed signal free corridors first would be a good starting point reports, Concrete roads last longer and minimise wear and tear of vehi- cles. However, a pro- vision must be made for rain water harvest- ing by installing recharge pits at regular intervals along their length. Concrete roads are essential for a city like Bengaluru. More roads will be identified for providing white topping and improv- ing traffic conditions in the city.

almost sounds too good to be true. Will Bengaluru be finally rid of its potholefilled roads as promised by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa? To Bengalureans, who have grown accustomed to living with bad roads, Mr Yeddyurappa’s brainwave of laying concrete roads in the city, which are more durable and unlikely to be damaged by one spell of rain, seems nothing short of a mirage.
The city has around 10,000 km of roads, of which 923 km are arterial roads carrying high density traffic, according to BBMP. These arterial roads are under threat of frequent wear and tear, especially during the monsoons, giving commuters a harrowing time.

Accidents and traffic jams are the order of the day on these stretches. It stands to reason that if

these arterial roads are treated with white topping, they will be more durable, cutting down drastically on BBMP’s annual maintenance bill.
And fortunately, the Chief Minister has instructed BBMP and BDA to tackle major roads to begin with on a public private partnership basis. When private companies come forward to

at least 25 years.
participate in building concrete roads, they will be allowed to advertise along them, he assured on Tuesday, clearly encouraged by the results of the concrete overlay used at the Hosur-Madiwala junction.
As the Chief Minister pointed out, white-topping on roads can last for two or three decades as against the three years or less that the asphalted roads survive for.

It was nothing but music to the ears of Bengalureans to hear Mr Yeddyurappa say that although the concerte roads may be 20 per cent more expensive, the fact that once laid they would require little maintenance, made the whole project worthwhile.

But the worry is that will the government take care of frequent road cutting too by one agency or the other for laying pipelines, repair work and so on? A senior engineer C.S.

Vishwanath suggests that road cutting can be prevented by providing utilities on either side of the road.

Use of suitable technology can also obviously help to make sure that the concrete roads once laid are not disturbed for any reason whatsoever, giving Bengalureans a smooth ride through the city, at long last.