In the second half of October, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced celebrations of ‘pothole habba’, or a festival of potholes, in Bengaluru to highlight an issue that has been a sore point among citizens for long.
Bengaluru is a hub of the revolutionary changes being brought about in our lives by advances in the use of information technology and is called the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, but its civic officials are unable to build one decent road.
At least 3 persons lost their lives in this monsoon on account of potholes on roads.
Following one such death, BBMP promised to fill all potholes by September 30. This was pushed back by Revenue Minister R. Ashok to October 10 to fill potholes on major roads and October 25 to fill potholes on other roads.
On October 29, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai gave one week to the BBMP to fill major potholes across Bengaluru.
Going by the number of deadlines and changes in deadlines, it seems like no one takes these deadlines seriously.
On November 10, citing inaction on the part of civic authorities in tackling the pothole menace, the Aam Aadmi Party-Karnataka lodged over 75 complaints in around 40 police stations across the city against former councillors and officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
And this is the state of Hennur Main Road on November 25. At times, you cannot gauge the size and depth of a pothole. They pose a danger to all motorists, but people on two-wheelers are at greater risk.
