This stretch of the road next to the flyover near BDA Complex in HSR Layout is treacherous. No matter how much you fill it up, the potholes are formed yet again due to stagnant rainwater caused by bad planning of the BDA. When the water isn’t getting drained into the nearby stormwater drains, potholes are always likely. And many vehicle users have had harrowing experiences out here, particularly when it rains and they have no clue that there are potholes underneath the water waiting to surprise them.
Despite bringing this sorry state to the attention of the Major Roads department of the BBMP, nothing has been done to fix the waterlogging issue on this thoroughfare. This is particularly dangerous as it’s a major portion of the Outer Ring Road and any mishap will make the BBMP officials directly responsible for it.
Says resident Kavitha Reddy, “It’s been in a bad shape for many years. The key problem is that there is no gradient and when it rains the water, it stagnates upto 2ft, and the road develops killer potholes. All that the BBMP has to do is give a gradient while aspalting the road, so that the rain water reaches the Agara Lake through the stormwater drain.”
Senior BBMP officials informed Residents Watch that the proposal to fix all the major roads in Bangalore have been given to the state government In March 2018, and are awaiting approval. More than Rs 5 crore has been requested for the stretch between Silk Board and Agara flyover.
According to them, the stretch was handed over to the BBMP by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in 2016, but besides cleaning, they admit that no development work has taken place here under the BBMP regime. “Once the government grants the money for the major roads, all the service roads and flyover roads would be fixed,” the official said.
What about the immediate step of fixing the potholes? “This September 14th, a tender has already been granted to fix the roads in Bommanahalli and this road will also be taken up,” he said.
Ramesh Dev, Assistant engineer, BBMP (Major Roads) told Residents Watch that last night, the BBMP fixed the underpass stretch of Agara flyover from the temple end, and tonight, they will fix the BDA flyover service road as well. “We will maintain the slope, so the water does not stagnate,” he said.
