JOIN USVehicles piled up on the ever-busy Residency Road up to Richmond Circle flyover on Tuesday evening a day after heavy rainfall had washed away a good chunk of asphalt at the Brigade Road junction and created a 20-foot-long trench.
Choked drains and lack of an outlet often flood the road.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), as usual, never bothered to set things right.
Due to the rainfall on Monday night, water stagnated on the Residency Road-Brigade Road junction and created a 20-foot-long, two-foot-wide and one-foot-deep trench.
Commuters were left with only a 20-foot-wide motorable road.
A few feet away from the trench, another major pothole had surfaced.
Motorists had a tough time as the trench tested their driving skills.
Due to the water stagnation, many motorists could not assess the depth of the ditch and drove their vehicles into it, only to get stuck there.
Shopkeepers in the area said that many bikers fell off their vehicles while crossing the pothole.
A BMTC bus broke down after falling into it. A shopkeeper complained that there is no outlet for rainwater.
“All the side drains on Richmond Road have been completely choked as the Palike never de-silted them. Substandard quality of the road and the lack of an outlet for rainwater lead to potholes on Residency Road every year.”
BBMP caught unawares
The traffic policemen at the junction did not inform their higher-ups about the major pothole that resulted in the traffic jam.
As a result, the digital display board at the Residency Road-St Mark’s Road junction did not alert commuters to take alternative routes to avoid traffic jams.
The Palike officials were caught unawares about the potholes. The chief engineer of the BBMP East Zone, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, did not have information about the pothole.
It was only on Tuesday evening that the police and the BBMP officials came to know about the damage to the road, and swung into action to repair it.
Rs 200 cr to develop road
The Palike seems to be not so keen to improve the road even for the time being, given the fact that Residency Road is among the 12 roads chosen to be developed to international standards under the TenderSure scheme.
The State government has released Rs 200 crore to the BBMP to develop these roads.