Sampige Road white topping: Residents upset with slow progress

By Y Maheswara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: The BBMP has taken up white-topping of Sampige Road, but many residents and businessmen are not happy with the quality and the snail’s pace at which the work is progressing.

“There was no need for whitetopping Sampige Road since this road is not known for potholes or craters. I do not know why the BBMP authorities took up this work while there are many cross roads in Malleswaram that need immediate attention of the authorities concerned. Though I am not an expert to comment on the quality of the white-topping, I am not happy with the delay,” said Ravi Acharya, a resident.

The residents said that ongoing footpath work between Malleswaram Circle and 18th Cross on Sampige Road has become a hurdle for senior citizens who want to visit the nearby shops or eateries. Many businessmen are incurring losses due to the decrease in footfalls.

“I have to suffer as there is no option. My business has dropped considerably. I think the ongoing work may be completed within a few days. The BBMP contractor needs one more month. So, I have to wait for one more month,” said a businessman on the condition of anonymity.

Coming down heavily on the delay and poor quality of whitetopping on Sampige Road, Ramakrishna C, a JD(S) leader, has said the BBMP engineers have not bothered to ensure quality. He said that Sampige Road was white-topped without using steel bars (tie bars).

“I have seen the contractors using steel bars for white-topping roads at various other places in the city. When I questioned the BBMP engineer about not using steel bars in white-topping here, the latter declined to answer,’’ said Ramakrishna.

A civil engineer said that tie bars are used to ensure grip and increase structural strength. The slabs are subjected to different kinds of conditions such as temperature variations and vehicle load profile. Temperature variations cause some level of contraction and expansion. The load profile of vehicles also requires tie bars.

The BBMP took up whitetopping of Sampige Road in February and was expected to complete it in two months.