Cry my city roads!

The pounding city roads took two months ago, was enough to expose the poor quality of work done in the IT capital of the country. All it needed was a strong deluge to wash away al the asphalt and stones leaving life-threatening craters on almost every road which mattered in the city. Has enough thought been given to the issue of what best suits our roads and what should be done to make sure we don’t need to spend crores on repairs every year? Y. Maheswara Reddy analyses what ails our roads.

Bengaluru: Is the quality of asphalting roads in the city up to the mark? Generally, newly-asphalted roads have a minimum warranty of one year. Do all asphalted roads in the city last one year? If the lifespan of newly-laid roads is any indication, we know where things have gone wrong.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressed concern during the recent legislative session over the amount of money (Rs 785 core) being spent to upkeep 12 high-traffic-density corridors in the city. It is not that the quality of newly-asphalted roads dug up to lay underground drainage pipes or Cauvery water pipeline is as per the norms.

The BBMP has allocated hundreds of crores of rupees for asphalting roads in Mahadevapura, Dasarahalli and other areas. Residents and motorists struggle to commute on these roads due to their uneven surface and dust they kick up.

“I was very happy when the BBMP began asphalting the main road at Banjara Layout near Horamavu. I was shocked to see cracks developed on the road surface in practically no time. I brought this to the notice of the BBMP engineer concerned but in vain. The only consolation is now the road is free from dust,’’ said Prakash R, a social activist from Horamavu Agara.

Residents of Horamavu are of the opinion that the absence of corporators has emboldened the BBMP engineers and contractors to asphalt the roads as per their whims and fancies. “The BBMP engineer and the contractor are not consulting locals or activists before taking up asphalting work. Earlier, I used to supervise the asphalting work when my wife was corporator of Horamavu ward. Now, I have no say in either taking up developmental works or supervising the quality of the works being taken up,’’ said Venkatesh, husband of former corporator Radhamma.

Many roads were dug up in and around Ramamurthy Nagar ward to lay UGD pipes and Cauvery water pipeline. The asphalting of these roads began in a phased manner but the quality of asphalting remains, as like in other areas, poor. “The quality of asphalting on the road (near SBI) at Anandapura is not up to the mark. I have complained to the BBMP engineer about the poor quality of asphalting,’’ said P Purushotham, president of KR Puram Rising.

The story is the same when it comes to Mahadevapura or even Varthur. One can see asphalt coming loose on most of roads that were asphalted only a few weeks ago in and around Varthur. The residents complain that all mud roads and the roads that are dug up are being asphalted without developing shoulder drains or providing utility ducts to avoid digging of the roads in the near future.

“The contractor who is assigned to asphalt roads is bringing asphalting material from a bitumen plant that is situated at a faraway place. The bitumen needs to remain at a certain heat or temperature to use it for asphalting. All the roads that are asphalted have no slope to ensure rain water reaches shoulder drains on either side of the road,’’ said Jagadeesh Reddy of Varthur Rising.

Vishnu Prasad of Bellandur Development Forum said the BBMP authorities have taken up asphalting roads in and around Bellandur, and is hoping that they don’t end up doing a “shoddy” job. “All these roads were full of potholes, craters and dust. Now, the BBMP authorities have taken up asphalting of these roads. Let us hope the BBMP authorities do the work properly,’’ said Vishnu Prasad.

Meanwhile, Sudharshan of Owners Court has blamed BBMP for not preparing estimation reports as per requirements. “The amount allocated for asphalting roads is not sufficient, resulting in asphalting only a few roads,’’ said Sudharshan.