Blame game over potholes

But this time the BBMP is blaming the BWSBB for faulty pipes that flood and break the replaced asphalt; the latter refutes the allegations

Potholes just refuse to go away in the city. With efforts to fix the problem on from July, the BBMP is still making excuses for a pending problem.


Hole lot of issues: BBMP claims that 75 per cent of the pothole problem
is attributed to the leakage from old pipes. File pic

In September, the civic body identified close to 33,772 potholes that needed to be covered, along with a promise to fix them all by the month end.

The current numbers stand at approximately 9,000 potholes, the exception this time is that the BBMP is blaming the BWSSB for the delay.

A K Gopal Swamy, engineer-in-chief, BBMP, said, "About 75 per cent of the problem is attributed to leakage from old pipes. The water just flows into those low-lying areas and collects there which is why there is still a delay."

He added, "We have been in touch with the BWSSB and they say they'll fix it and replace the old pipes so we can do our job. But it's still a hindrance."

He added, "Of course, a small part of the problem is the rains. Every time there's a downpour, we need to wait to start work again."

T Venkatraju, chief, BWSSB, said, "We'll provide new pipes wherever necessary." He added, "We don't accept their blame. Pipes in the middle of the street cannot burst because they are strong and there are also no potholes in the middle of the roads."

He retorted, "Potholes are never in the centre of the street. How can they blame us for it?"

Work ahead
S Somashekar, chief engineer (East), said, "In this zone alone, there are 4,000 potholes. The main roads are done but the interiors are pending." He added, "Because of the leakage from the BWSSB, even the fixed ones have broken again. We could have fixed the potholes in another 15 days."

B T Ramesh, chief engineer (West), said, "Almost 90 per cent of the work is complete in this zone. Once the sanitary lines have been fixed by the BWSSB, we can continue with the work." He added, "By year end, our zone should be pothole free."

33,772 number of potholes identified by the civic body in September

9,000 approximate number of potholes the city today