Lab report on quality of road work lands BBMP in soup, two engineers suspended

BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is facing flak for the poor quality of road work, seems to have admitted in a secret report on road quality that substandard work was indeed carried out.

After a lab report nailed poor quality work for the asphalt coming off on Kommaghatta Road, which the PM had taken last month to inaugurate the BASE campus, the civic body has now issued orders suspending two assistant engineers of the Rajarajeswari Nagar zone, A Ravi and Vishwas.

The Kommaghatta Road was relaid after spending crores for the PM’s visit. But two days later, a part of the road had caved in. Public TV had reported about the poor condition of the road. The PMO had later sought a report from the state government.

Following the embarassment, the BBMP Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) had sent samples to a lab for tests, from between Mysuru Road and Ullal Circle, Gandhi Bhavan Road, Bangalore University Road, Mariyappana Palya Main Road and Kommaghatta Road.

The lab results, which have now reached the BBMP Chief Commissioner, have now confirmed substandard work on Kommaghatta Road.

The report says that the concrete mix was not thick enough, the dense bitumimous macadem was lesser than 50 mm and bitumimous concrete mix was lesser than 40 mm among other things, pointing out that poor quality work was carried out.