CM Siddaramaiah during his city rounds on Saturday.
Credit: CMO
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday was unimpressed by the city's road condition and blamed rains for it as he went on an inspective drive that also resulted in the suspension of an engineer and notices to multiple officials over lapses.
“Due to heavy rains, potholes have increased in the city. It should’ve been dealt with early on but it wasn’t done. But I have instructed them now. Within the given deadline, they have to fix it,” he said, referring to the Oct 31 deadline set for filling the scores of potholes dotting the city's roads.
The CM, accompanied by officials from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the city police and Namma Metro, kicked off the city rounds near his official residence.
First-up was the waterlogging problem near ITC Windsor. The CM instructed GBA officials to install a proper drainage system on Ballari Road and also ordered the roadwork along the junction be completed by Sunday morning.
Some of the other areas he visited included Panathur, Hennur-Bagalur and parts of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), which is notorious for traffic congestion and has been in news recently.
Inspecting the ongoing white-topping work along the Hennur-Bagalur stretch, he reiterated that contractors should bear the responsibility for potholes on roads selected for white-topping.
"Once the road is handed over for white-topping, the BBMP will not pay for the maintenance of those roads. We are spending Rs 13 crore per km for the white-topping. I have instructed the contractor to wrap up the roadwork within 30 days and ensure the road is in perfect motorable condition," he said.
Irked by the shoddy road work in the area, the CM proceeded to suspend the executive engineer of the Hennur-Bagalur division for negligence. "The engineer has filled the potholes with gravel instead of using tar," said Siddaramaiah.
At several places, the CM spotted and halted at blackspots covered in garbage and debris.
At Ward No 23, the CM was triggered by the fact that the garbage was spilling out of the waste collection centre, in addition to gravel lying on the asphalt that could potentially lead to accidents. The CM proceeded to issue a formal notice to those in charge of operations on these premises.
The CM’s eagle-eyed approach continued on Ballari Road (750 metres from Windsor Manor Circle), as the entourage moved at a snail’s pace to ensure he had the vantage point.
In one such instance, he noticed that construction waste had been dumped in an area where CCTV cameras were "suspiciously" absent. The CM told officials to find out who dumped the waste in the area and asked them to impound their vehicles and register a case. He insisted that CCTV cameras be installed in Panathur, where waste management was not up to the mark.
During the inspection, Siddaramaiah was also informed of the BMRCL's lack of initiative to clean up after finishing the Namma Metro work, and how they have damaged the white-topping on the road.
The CM also reiterated that service roads should not be neglected during the metro work.
CM's day out in B'luru
Instructs GBA officials to install drainage system on Ballari Road and orders completion of roadwork along junction by Sunday
Inspects white-topping work along Hennur-Bagalur stretch, says contractors should bear responsibility for potholes on roads selected for white-topping
Suspends executive engineer of the Hennur-Bagalur division for negligence At Ward No 23, notices waste spilling out and orders issue of formal notice to those in charge of operations