City a mess: BBMP builds, BWSSB wrecks in Benson Town

Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT Bengaluru, Nov. 4

Here is a classic example of how civic agencies work at crosspurposes and end up wrecking the city rather than maintain its already fragile infrastructure. The digging up of Benson Cross Road at Benson Town on Thursday morning is a clear indication that what the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) fixes, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) destroys. With impunity.

“We are shocked to see BWSSB men digging up the road that was asphalted just 24 hours ago. This is the main road that connects us to other areas,’’ said Waseem Memon, a resident. Residents say the road has been in terrible condition for the last eight months, and yet, within 24 hours of it being asphalted on Wednesday night, BWSSB authorities called in a contractor to dig up the road on Thursday morning . “There was ample time - almost eight months - for the BWSSB engineers to fix the problem but they did not care to attend to the problem. It is not fair for them to dig up the road that was asphalted only a day ago,’’ said Imran Khan, another resident. Coming down heavily on the authorities concerned for the mess on Benson Cross Road, Taskeen Basham, a resident has said the road has seen one civic agency after another deploying the digger.

Although the BWSSB contractor dug up the road to plug a persistent water leak, she said it was no justification for what they did., a bare 24 hours later after the road was fixed. It may be recalled that BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta and State Revenue Minister had recently blamed the BWSSB for the potholes and the craters on various roads. Both of them had emphasised the need for better coordination between the BBMP, BWSSB and Bescom authorities to maintain the roads in the city.

The BBMP assistant executive engineer assured residents he would visit the spot to estimate the damage caused to the road.

“The BWSSB engineer or the contractor have not contacted us seeking permission to dig up the road to fix the leakage of water.

We are contemplating lodging a police complaint against those responsible for the damage caused to the road,’’ the BBMP assistant executive engineer said.