Commuters battle road rollers amidst peak hour jams

Having roads free from crater-like potholes is every Bengalurean’s dream. But the dream turned into a nightmare on Friday morning, when road-rollers and contractors were blocking prime intersections in the city in a bid to fill the potholes, adding to the traffic snarls.

“I understand that the BBMP is supposed to follow the court orders and repair the roads. But the timing is putting us in trouble. Because they did not do their work in the past in a planned manner, the public has to face the brunt now. Also, how much will this patchwork help in giving us smooth roads?” Nagaraj, a motorist said.

The intersection on Hosur Main Road was one of the busy roads that were chosen for repair during the peak hours of Friday morning. However, a road-roller and contractors along with workers running around to fill potholes in the middle of the main road added up to the chaos.

“The traffic police have a tough time managing the traffic here even on normal days. The BMTC buses and vehicles are out of control, especially at this time. The BBMP is more than welcome to repair the roads. But they should not add to our peak hour troubles,” Aishwarya Shankar, an artist said.

Citizens also felt that the work taken up in a hurry to meet a deadline would not last and would also do more harm than help.

“I am sceptical if these patches will withstand even one spell of rain. For the sake of it, the work will be done in a sub-standard manner, and one shower will bring these roads back to square one. It’s like we have to choose between pothole-free road or no extra trouble during the peak hours” Aishwarya added.

However, the BBMP requested people to be patient. Venkatesh M R, the Engineer in Chief, BBMP, called for co-operation from the public for better roads.

“The BBMP is working in the interest of the public. We are doing our best to provide better roads and request the public to cooperate,” Venkatesh said.

He promised that the BBMP would take care of the work during the peak hours accordingly and added that the work done round the clock was
to repair the potholes
instantly.

“Peak hours or no peak hours, the BBMP has to attend to all the potholes instantly. We have to comply with the court as well. We are also taking the help of the contractors to reach the deadline,” he explained.