Pothole problem can’t be fixed in 15 days, say civic activists as BBMP starts to fill them

Following a 15-day deadline set by Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar to fill potholes on city roads, senior civic officials, including special commissioners, are overseeing the exercise on the streets, even inviting the media and making it an event. 

Following a 15-day deadline set by Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar to fill potholes on city roads, senior civic officials, including special commissioners, are overseeing the exercise on the streets, even inviting the media and making it an event. 

However, civic activists said that such an exercise would not fix the pothole problem of the city. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had counted 2,795 potholes as of September 2, when Mr. Shivakumar set the deadline.

However, activists and residents complain that the civic body has not only undercounted potholes, but also underestimated how potholes reappear even as they are being filled. 

In the last three days since Mr. Shivakumar asked senior officials to go to the streets and oversee the exercise and warned of suspension if he found potholes after the deadline, at least two special commissioners of East and South zones issued media invites the previous day and inspected potholes being filled in one of the areas of their zones the next day.

Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath also went on city rounds inspecting the pothole filling exercise on Tuesday. He visited multiple spots in East Zone, War Memorial junction, Brigade Road, Victoria Layout, Vasanthnagar among others, and issued instructions to maintain high quality of work while filling potholes and warned of suspension if potholes in their areas were not filled by the deadline. 

Nagesh Aras, civic activist and road infrastructure expert, said that the system was designed in such a way that roads develop potholes so that it can lead to more civic works. “For instance, Mr. Shivakumar has now announced ₹660 crore for repair of arterial roads,” he pointed out. “The BBMP always blames the rains, but though the civic body has adopted the Indian Road Congress (IRS) guidelines, it has only remained on paper. The civic body is guilty of approving road works of bad quality. Even pothole filling is done unscientifically,” he said. 

Another activist who did not wish to be named said that deadlines set by the government were impractical and these exercises were aimed at creating an impression that the government was doing something.