Bengaluru's roads in crisis: BBMP chief calls for urgent pothole fixes | Report

Bengaluru's BBMP chief demanded urgent pothole repairs as residents express frustration over crumbling roads and infrastructure during monsoon season.

In a renewed push to fix Bengaluru’s battered roads, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao on Thursday instructed civic officials to urgently accelerate pothole repair work across the city.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao. (X/M Maheshwar Rao)

During a virtual review meeting, Rao emphasized the need for detailed zone-wise micro plans and directed that potholes be sealed quickly using hot mix, cold mix, or eco-friendly materials - prioritizing repairs on key arterial and sub-arterial roads, according to news agency PTI.

Recent traffic police data highlighted the scale of the problem, flagging over 4,500 potholes city wide, with 3,621 under the BBMP’s purview. Rao made it clear that every identified pothole must be fixed without delay. This comes in the midst of monsoon season, during which the city experiences flooding, waterlogging and inundation every year due to poor drainage systems.

Rao also stressed the importance of accountability, instructing officials to identify roads still under the Defect Liability Period (DLP) and ensure that original contractors carry out necessary repairs.

To improve transparency, Rao further directed teams to use GIS mapping and upload before-and-after photos for verification. He also pushed for stronger coordination with agencies like BESCOM, BWSSB, NHAI and BMRCL to prevent neglect in post-project road restoration.

Bengaluru’s substandard infrastructure, crumbling roads and shoddy construction projects are all earning it a bad reputation, with residents taking to social media sites to voice out their frustrations over daily commutes. Come monsoon, the chaos intensifies - pothole-riddled streets become flooded, turning vital routes into obstacle courses.

“ORR service rd Banaswadi Jn towards kasturinagar was asphalted just couple of months back by the greatest guarantee sarakara of @siddaramaiah @DKShivakumar @INCKarnataka @BBMPAdmn @BBMPCOMM, there are dozens of massive craters. what is the commission rates in bbmp projects?” a Bengaluru resident said on X.

(With inputs from PTI)