Many Bengaluru residents have already suffered the pain of commuting through white-topping of roads but sense has finally prevailed over the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
City Mayor N Sampath Raj has suspended the whitetopping project for the time being to address the issues faced by the citizens.
Speaking about his decision with TNM, the Mayor said, “There is a major traffic problem all over the city as our officers have unscientifically started the project. People are suffering, even ambulances are struggling to pass through.”
“Whenever we do this, we have to have alternative connectivity to ensure minimum inconvenience to the public. For example, both the underpasses at Horamavu and Ramamurthy Nagar are blocked due to ongoing works. Now if the project is taken up there, people there would not have a way to commute,” the mayor told TNM.
“I will go for inspection along with the Commissioner and plan accordingly so that the plan is wholly concurrent with the traffic police department,” he added.
A senior police official had said traffic movement was deeply affected due to the white-topping exercise.
Currently, four major roads in the city including Mysore Road and Hosur Road were being white-topped and another 25 roads were planned to be taken under the project all at the same time in the coming weeks.
“We will do it stage by stage, we will take people's opinion. The project was given a nod for 32 km, they (engineers) started the projects where ever they wanted.” the mayor said.
Speaking about the 10-day curing process (the process where the white topping or the concrete settles on the asphalt road), traffic expert MN Sreehari (also an adviser to the state government) had earlier told the TNM that it was an “ancient” process.
Sreehari had also criticised the delay in introduction of this technology and alleged it was a decision keeping in mind the coming elections.
“White-topping is not the most recent technology. They were sleeping for four and a half years. Why didn't the government do all this before elections at one go?” Sreehari had questioned.
He had suggested that newer technology makes it possible for the curing process to be completed within one day at a nominal cost.
When asked about the BBMP’s thought about it, the Mayor said, “If we have to do that, there will be a cost escalation of 10% – it’s a big financial implication. We will discuss this with the CM and will do if he approves.”
White-topping is a process where normal bitumen asphalted roads are given a concrete topping in the hope of giving them a longer life and to prevent potholes.