Over 300 km of Bengaluru roads damaged by rain

Bengaluru: Rains in the city have so far damaged 878 roads with 343.41 km of these stretches affected. That apart, 1,114 houses have also reported damage and three deaths were recorded owing to tree falls.

The data was presented during the ongoing Assembly session with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, in a written response, saying that Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had disbursed compensation to families of those killed due to the tree fall.

Measures have also been taken to construct retaining walls to storm water drains and other works to prevent flooding of houses in the low lying areas, he said. 

According to data, Bommanahalli suffered the maximum damage to roads with close to 150 km of roads affected. However, incidents of water entering the houses were more from the South and East zone.

Commuters expressed concerns over the poor quality of roads.

“There is not a single road without a pothole. It has become tough to commute every day, especially on a two-wheeler. Many of us are scared to carry children on two-wheelers owing to such poor roads,” said Kavya K who travels between Malleswaram and Domlur almost every day.

Many also urged BBMP to take precautions before heavy rains lash the city. “Aren’t they putting the lives of people at risk? They should take precautions immediately to lay long lasting roads that don’t wear off with a few spells of rain,” said Sumanth M, a techie.

Senior BBMP officials, however, told DH that they were repairing the damaged roads and were also working closely with the Bengaluru traffic police to identify any problematic stretches.

“We are doing our best. Potholes are being filled. However, we cannot take up any major work during monsoons. We are also working with the traffic police to identify and fix any problems immediately,” said Maheshwar Rao, BBMP Chief Commissioner.

The BBMP had also identified 218 flood-prone spots and by the end of July, interventions have been made at 169 spots and works are planned to correct the remaining 49 spots, Shivakumar said in the written reply.