BBMP unsure about utilising pothole-filling machine

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) seems to be dillydallying on putting to use the Python 5000 pothole-filling machine it procured a few months ago.

It has been over two weeks since BBMP commissioner M Lakshminarayana announced at a Council meeting last December that a committee would be set up to prepare a report on the using the machine.

“We were told that the committee would comprise technical experts, Palike chief engineers, executive engineers, independent experts and an engineer from the Technical Vigilance Committee under Commissioner (TVCC). The report was supposed to be presented at the upcoming Council meeting at the end of this month. A notification with regard to the matter has to come from the Palike  commissioner or the special commissioner. But we are yet to receive it,” said a Palike official.

An initiative by the BBMP and the State government, the machine was introduced on the City roads by American Road Technology and Solutions (ARTS) Private Limited.

Corporators oppose

According to Palike sources, the machine has been used to fill potholes on the roads under first package (West zone), despite opposition from councillors. Hence, whether or not the machine will be used will depend on the findings of the report, he added.
B Somashekar, chairman of the BBMP’s Standing Committee on Major Works, said: “Our members are aware of the condition of the machine and feel that it serves no purpose. I communicated their opinion to Mayor B S Satyanarayana a week ago.”

Muniratna Naidu, MLA from Rajarajeshwarinagar, opined that the committee should have been formed by this time and appointed members must have given their suggestions.
BBMP Chief Superintendent for Roads, K T Nagaraj, said that it would take three to four days to inspect and prepare a report once the committee is formed.

“The cost of filling potholes with the machine is Rs 85,000 per km. The tenders for undertaking work in other zones will be taken up only after report is out,” he added.