Rain washes away BBMP's pothole work

The rains that lashed the city on Sunday night also washed away pothole fillings by the BBMP, laying bare the shoddy manner in which road repair works have been carried out in various parts of the city.

This shows that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has been filling potholes in a haphazard manner, complain residents.

The Karnataka High Court had extended its September 20 deadline to fill potholes after the BBMP counsel sought three more days. By Monday (September 24), the roads in the city should be free of potholes, it had said.

Rushing to meet the court deadline, the civic body had filled potholes with just mud and gravel in many areas, especially interior roads. And it took just one shower to wash away the patchy work.

In Lakkasandra, the BBMP has brought debris to fill potholes, say residents. “On Sunday afternoon, the corporation men brought debris and mud to fill the potholes here,” said Prasanna.

“The debris and stones came out after the rain, exposing the poor way the work was done,” he said.

It's the same story on Bagalagunte main road. The BBMP had done patchwork here, which failed to brave the weather. “The authorities have used poor materials. It's a routine work of them to fill potholes like this and mint money,” said Govindaraju, member of MHR Layout welfare association in Hessarghatta main road.

Quality work, says mayor

Mayor R Sampath Raj said they are using scientific method to fill potholes. “The BBMP has never filled potholes with mud and debris anywhere. Probably, it may have been done by the localities. Quality is definitely not compromised by the BBMP,” he said.

“If the quality is not good, we will definitely take action against the officials concerned,” he said.