JOIN USCaught in a splash of nuisance
The rains are here and the woes created by the downpour day after day is countless. It’s common to see mucky water being splashed on pedestrians and two wheelers by other motorists. Everyone is in such a rush to reach their destination that they don’t slow down when they come across a pool of water on the road. Bangaloreans are concerned about this and want something to be done to stop this kind of discourteous behaviour.
Shrinivas Shetty, a businessman, says, “People are just not bothered. Even when a big puddle is there right in front of the eyes, they just drive through these as fast as possible.”
Shrinivas says that he never does this. “I slow down when I’m driving my car through the rain. But one cannot entirely blame the citizens for it. It is the bad condition of the roads that leads to waterlogging. Even the smallest of showers can cause this,” he adds.
There are others too like Deepthi Sharma, a home-maker from Sadashivanagar, who has faced this issue as a two-wheeler rider and pedestrian. She says, “It is a very awkward moment when one heads out and get splashed with water. It is quite disturbing.”
“Once I was on the New BEL Road, and a four wheeler was continuously honking. I let him pass. He drove across rashly, splashing a lot of water on me and I was drenched in dirty water. I had to head back home, change my clothes and then head out. It’s a time-consuming and frustrating experience.” Deepthi also feels that when one is on the road and gets splashed in water, there is also the danger of not seeing what is ahead. “If you are on a bike, you could miss the speed hump and skid,” she adds.
Apart from the discourteousness of this act, the safety aspect also has to be considered. “When water is splashed on you, your vision too becomes unclear for a while. The impact of a huge wave of mucky water can take one aback, and he or she could lose his or her balance,” voices Shikha Mathur, a graduate student. Aninda Chatterjee, an IT professional, narrates an incident that happened to him during the rainy season. “I was on a two-wheeler and wearing a white outfit when I was splashed with water. My outfit became muddy,” he recollects.
He points out that he does not ride fast through mucky water. “One stands the risk of skidding when riding too fast through mucky water,” he says. Aninda also feels that the BBMP staff are not bothered about finishing the maintenance projects on time, which also leads to this situation.
Ask the authorities about the condition of the roads and they say that they are working on it. M Lakshminarayana, BBMP commissioner, says, “Around Rs 10 crore has been used to fill potholes and improve the roads. But due to increased rains, there are new potholes opening up. That is also because the roads in the City have not been asphalted for three years.” Identifying different arterial and sub-arterial roads, he says that roads like MG Road, Church Street, the stretch from ITC Factory to Banaswadi and the South-End Circle are all sensitive areas. Lakshminarayana informs that they aim to use Rs 10 crore more to fill the potholes and Rs 300 crore for asphalting the roads once the rains stop.