Unkindest cut of all: BWSSB digs up newly laid St Mark's Road footpath

It can be termed the unkindest cut of all. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has cut open the pavements laid under the TenderSURE project on St Mark’s Road, before the stretch could be officially thrown open to the public.

TenderSURE (Tender Specifications for Urban Road Execution), one of the costliest road infrastructure projects in the City, was taken up with a tall claim that the roads will not require any repair for the next 20 years. But it did not take long for the BWSSB crowbar to hit the pavement three days ago.

The reason? When the BBMP began the project, it did not take the BWSSB along to remove the old sewage connections and link it with the new ones. This resulted in a leakage in the old pipeline and filthy water started spilling on to the street.

When contacted, BWSSB chairperson Anjum Parvez said there were some 50-odd private connections which were not connected with the TenderSURE sewerage line. The TenderSURE road was dug up when the leakage was noticed.

As usual, the BBMP has started blaming the BWSSB for the fault. However, Parvez was quick to add that the Board will bear the cost of repairing the damage. “There is no point indulging in blame game. We have decided to restore it at our cost. We will make sure that such things do not happen at any of the TenderSURE roads in future.”

Meena Artwani of Forum for Urban Commons and Governance said the cost of the TenderSURE project is close to Rs 115 crore and the average expenditure on St Marks Road is about Rs 16 crore for a distance of 1.5 km.

“The BBMP had stated that TenderSURE is a long-term project and will not require any repair for the next 20 years,” said Artwani.