BBMP says it’s awaiting IISc report on rapid road, but hasn’t approved plan

BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) seems to be misguiding  citizens as regards the rapid road which developed cracks within weeks of being opened to traffic, saying that it is waiting for a report from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It even claimed that the Chief Minister had instructed it to continue with the construction of rapid road until the report is available.

However, it has now come to light that though the BBMP sent a request to IISc to conduct a study, it has not even approved that cost proposal submitted by the institute.

The country’s first rapid road was constructed by the BBMP on a stretch of Old Madras Road in CV Raman Nagar. Shockingly, within a week of its opening, the road developed cracks, raising concerns about the quality of work and its feasibility. Following this, a request was sent to the Indian IISc to find out the reasons for cracks developing on the rapid road and to submit a report.

Cracks developed on country’s first rapid road in the city within weeks of it being opened to traffice.

The institute sent a proposal to the BBMP mentioning the time frame it requires for the study, method and expenditure of Rs 23 lakh and said that if the proposal is accepted, they will take up the assignment.

However, the BBMP does not seem to have approved the IISc proposal and is hoodwinking the citizens. Authorities at the institute said the BBMP has not approved their proposal and hence, they have not started any investigation on the rapid road.

According to IISc experts, it will take at least three months to study the rapid road and submit a report. They need to conduct soil and concrete tests, study what sort of mixture the engineers had used for the construction of a road, et al. The institute will conduct about 10-12 different tests and only then submit a detailed report.

Professor of IISc, Dr Chandra Kishan said, “The BBMP has given a request letter to IISc last week to conduct a detailed study on the rapid road construction. We have mentioned the time frame and scope of work in our proposal and we are waiting for their approval before taking up the study. We have sought three months time to submit the report as we need to test the sub-base of the soil, which is a non-disruptive test. We should study what materials they have used in the concrete mixing, whether they used steel reinforcements, the cause of vibration, curing condition and so on”.

“Rapid road is cost-effective and it is successful in other countries. Pre-cast units is cost effective and there is usually no issues about poor quality work. It is quick and there is no need to block traffic. Basically, we will study its original design and structure”, Dr Chandra added.