BANGALORE: On July 8, the BBMP announced that approximately 7,000 potholes will be filled within a month — a target which could not be realistic considering the many times that the Palike has failed to keep up with it. According to the Chief Engineer BBMP, BT Ramesh, there are plenty of reasons why the city has potholes. “Some of the main reasons for potholes are water logging, poorly constructed roads, felling of trees along with the number of vehicles that utilise the road — which further degenerate the roads. Overflowing manholes, sewage from the drains and digging up are the other reasons why the city has such a vast number of potholes,” said Ramesh.He further added, “Potholes keep occurring because there can't be a permanent solution to get rid of them. The reason being that, the roads need to be asphalted once in every two to three years. But that is impossible in India due to the finances that are required in the process. We can only minimise the number of potholes but there can't be a 'pothole free' scenario ever.” Deputy Mayor S Harish said, “The problem is that there are new trenches being dug up every day. Sanitary problems, blockage of drains and water issues — these are all utility problems due to which they have to dig up the roads. Once the work is done, the people responsible do not cover them back and that creates a problem for BBMP as they have to take care of the freshly dug holes.” The engineers had done a survey and had given the details on the areas to the court which required attention. However, right now the whole city is suffering from it. Hence, there is no particular area which could be named. The process of patchwork happens in several stages. Said Ramesh “Right now, we have started the patch work but we can’t work continuously because of the rains.” In the coming weeks, the rains would only get intense.The BBMP could have started the work earlier but when asked about it the Deputy Mayor said, “It is a reccurring problem so even if we would have started the work earlier the chances would be that the potholes could come back. I think setting a target of a month to finish the patch work is definitely realistic. There are around 7,000 potholes right now which would be covered for sure.”One such area in Bangalore is Yelahanka, which connects the city and the airport. Being in the outskirts and one of the main areas connecting the airport and neighbouring cities, the roads need to be in a good condition throughout the year. In total there are around 3,850 potholes in Yehlanka. According to the Chief Engineer of Yelahanka, B S Ramesh, 90 per cent of potholes have been covered and 15 per cent are remaining. But we wonder how? The total number of potholes in the area are 3,850. About 1,101 are yet to be done. “We have been working around the clock and two to three hundred potholes have been covered in the past two to three days. We cover old ones but new ones spring up in no time. But, by July 30 we will definitely cover all the potholes,” said Ramesh.
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