JOIN USPM visit puts Palike in 'quick-fix' mode
It’s a tiring toil out there for hundreds of workers of BBMP for the past couple of days. They have been busy cleaning the roads of the city so that it appears all hunky-dory during the visit of Prime Minister Modi.
But, as officials of the civic body admitted, the changes are only cosmetic and will last no longer than a month.
From filling potholes to sweeping the streets, the BJP-governed BBMP tried to give a ‘clean’ image to the route to be taken by the prime minister from HAL to Peenya via Raj Bhavan.
Using “quick fix” technology, the Python, the BBMP tried to hide the bad roads of Bangalore, by filling the potholes in and around Domlur, Raj Bhavan Road and Peenya.BBMP officials said that the image makeover work was taken up on an emergency basis, with the bills yet to be submitted. Preliminary estimates place the costs for asphalting and pothole-filling at no less than Rs 10 lakh.
The BBMP has deployed all pourakarmikas to clean the route between HAL and Peenya. It is said that 600 to 700 personnel of the civic agency have been working round-the-clock.The workers worked on Monday (September 22) night and early Tuesday (September 23) morning, sweeping the roads. The traffic police officials were on duty to ensure that no untoward incident happens.
Clean roads
On Tuesday afternoon, a man threw a water bottle out of his car, inviting the wrath of a police official on Cubbon Road. He stopped the driver and said, “Pick the bottle you threw out of the car. The roads have been swept for the arrival of Modi. By throwing it, you are littering the road.” The driver promptly obliged.