How many more lives will it take? Citizens question BBMP on bad roads

BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has failed to meet the deadline for fixing the city’s roads for ninth time in recent weeks. According to a report prepared by the Palike officials, it has identified a total 21,734 potholes of which 17,120 have been filled but 4,614 potholes still remain.

According to BBMP data, the the highest number of potholes have been identified in the East and Dasarahalli zones. The civic body identified a total 5,776 potholes in the East zone of which 4,230 have been filled so far and 1,546 are yet to be filled.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike admits, it cannot fill all potholes in the city

There are 4,501 potholes identified in the West zone and 4,120 potholes have been filled while 381 potholes are yet to be fixed. In the South zone, the Palike ofiicials have identified 1,915 potholes and 1,704 potholes have been filled while 211 potholes remain to be fixed.

In Bommanahalli zone, as per the official report, 1,409 potholes were identified of which 1,090 have been filled and 319 potholes need to be fixed. In Dasarahalli zone, 1,918 potholes were identified by BBMP of which 601 have been fixed and 1,317 potholes are yet to filled.

As per the report, the total number of potholes in Mahadevpura zone is 2004, out of which the BBMP has filled 1,409 potholes and 509 remain. In RR Nagar zone, the BBMP had filled 2,351 potholes out of a total of 3,196 and 845 potholes are yet to be attended to. Under Yelahanka zone, 1,015 potholes were found of which 592 were filled and 423 are yet to be completed.

Since last September, seven people died due to potholes in Bengaluru while several others have suffered injuries in pothole-related, with some of them still undergoing treatment in hospitals. Many families have lost their breadwinners, but the BBMP seems unmoved.

The deceased were Azeez Ahmed from Thanisandra, Nubia from Magadi Road, Sharmila from Bydarahalli, Ashwini Jugude from M S Palya, Supreeth from Magadi Road, Umadevi from Lulu Mall and Harshad from Yelahanka. While only a few cases have come to light, many have gone unreported.

Citizens blame the civic body for the loss of lives due to bad roads and accuse it of playing with the lives of the common man. They are also targeting the government for its failure to rein in the BBMP.

Some of those who died due to bad roads in Bengaluru.

Only on Monday, a scooterist, identified as Kumar, died in Rajajinagar after his scooter skidded on a bad stretch of road and he came under the wheels of a tractor. Kumar’s family is now seeking justice. A few weeks ago, Shilpa Sri, a Bangalore University post-graduate student, was crushed under a BMTC bus while trying to board it.

Last week, a two-wheeler rider staged protest with six-month-old child near Halasuru junction demanding the BBMP to fill up potholes. He has suffered a fall after hitting a pothole on the road. Later, the BBMP officials did a shoddy job of filling the pothole with sand and gravel mixture.

A two-wheeler rider staged protest with his family on the road at Halasuru junction.

Though the city had hoped to see better roads ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to inaugurate the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda statue, that too was belied. The BBMP has now resumed work on fixing the roads, but the pace has been so tardy that it has missed several deadline, even those set by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai himself.

The CM has also issued several warnings to the BBMP officials and is holding review meetings every week, seeking progress reports on the work. Citizens have vented their ire on social media, but nothing just seems to move the sluggish civic body.