Civic body starts roadwork, but with bad material

The BBMP may have broken the spell of criticism that loomed large over it and rekindled the faith of the common man with the sudden extensive road-repair work in the city, but there could more to it than meets the eye.

With the deadline to fill up all the potholes in the city, fast closing in, it seems like the palike has started work in earnest and in an organized manner.
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Potholes are being filled and road-asphalting work has begun in full swing, but city infrastructure experts claim that the bitumen (tar) being used is of poor quality and allege that cracks appear barely hours after BBMP workers lay it.

Three months ago the BBMP had covered around 7,000 potholes in the city, but the rains exposed the poor quality of work, following which the palike earned the wrath of the public.

"The filling work at the Madivala Junction, which was done only three months ago, has again been re-laid.

This has not only revealed the civic body's shoddy work, but has also brought to light the fact that the materials used here cannot withstand the rain and should instead have been done during the summer months," said Mohan Das, infrastructure expert.

On receiving end
With the poor road conditions in the city and the ever-growing number of potholes, the traffic police claim that traffic management is a nightmare they face.
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"If people cannot see where the road is, how will they move ahead? The roads were dug up and numerous potholes developed.

Now, they have begun covering these potholes for the past week, but the rain has revealed their shoddy work.
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They should do a better job to reduce the continuous inconvenience caused to the public," said V Nagesh, Traffic Police Inspector.

Meanwhile, infrastructure consultant R K Mishra has come out in support of the BBMP and suggested that the palike should be allowed to continue what it has started.

"At least they are waking up to the problem now, so let us appreciate that fact. If they stop the work now, it will cause a lot more problems," he said.