The efforts of HSR Layout residents, who used Google maps to locate potholes and black spots in their locality, have sort of paid off. On Thursday, they received a letter from Siddaramaiah himself assuring them of action.

The residents had shot off a letter on December 28 to Siddarmaiah about the bad condition of roads in the layout. They had also pointed out that good roads were being re-asphalted unnecessarily. In response, the Chief Minister’s Office, in a mail stated that Siddaramaiah had taken note of it and that he had directed the Palike officers to take action and keep him informed about the progress.

Zahid H Javali, a resident said: “We are happy that Siddaramaiah has responded to our mail. We hope the Palike stops retarring good roads and focuses on bad ones, not only in our layout but also across the City. This is the need of the hour.”

He pointed out that 60 feet and 80 feet crossroads at sectors 3, 7, 2 and 6 had not been asphalted for seven years.

Another resident, Lalithamba B V, said the condition of Somasundarapalya Road – where several educational institutions are located – was the worst in the entire layout.

The team involved in the Google mapping project said they were happy with the encouraging response they had been getting from the residents. Syed Imran, who created the map, said around 80 citizens, including the local MLA, were contributing to the project by clicking the images of potholes, black spots and places, where mixed waste was being dumped, apart from curating the map and sharing the images on WhatsApp group called ‘Residents Watch’.

He said a training workshop was conducted on Wednesday wherein five volunteers were taught how to gather data and use Google maps. Javali said they planned to add footpath encroachments to their project.

Palike Commissioner Kumar Naik told Deccan Herald that upgrading of roads in the 198 wards in the City, including the  HSR Layout ward, would be taken up shortly at a cost of Rs 780 crore. Tenders for the works will be floated in about 10 days.