Bengaluru roads get makeover after months of social media outcry

Bengaluru: Amid complaints mounting on social media about bad roads, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has begun asphalting arterial and sub-arterial roads across the city.

The timing of the work during the monsoon has, however, raised doubts about its durability.

Fresh asphalt has been laid on stretches of Mysore Road, Magadi Road, Whitefield Main Road, Banaswadi Main Road, Dinnur Main Road, and service roads on the Outer Ring Road in areas like BEL Circle and Ramamurthy Nagar. This is in addition to ongoing white-topping works, while many damaged roads remain unattended.

Officials said asphalting is being carried out under two schemes: a 389-km road project costing Rs 694 crore, approved recently, and a Rs 273-crore high-density corridor improvement project, conceptualised three years ago, but stalled after the government changed in 2023.

M Lokesh, Chief Engineer-Road Infrastructure, BBMP, said that potholes are also being filled using the civic body’s batch mix plant. A zonal engineer added that the head office is supplying bitumen mix promptly whenever requested.

However, residents complained about poor-quality pothole repairs, alleging that contractors focus on numbers over lasting fixes. Netizens, too, have criticised the shoddy work via posts on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the BBMP’s official handle.

HP Sunil, a resident of North Bengaluru, welcomed the roadwork in places like BEL Circle and the MEI stretch, but questioned the timing. “Ideally, de-silting should have been done two months ago,” he said.