Bengaluru Mayor Sampath Raj, on Tuesday evening, hopped on to a two-wheeler and inspected Bengaluru’s roads first hand. He even fined two contractors for the shoddy condition of the roads.
This isn’t the first time the DJ Halli corporator has done this. In November 2017, he rode through Bengaluru’s pothole-filled roads and suspended four Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials for not repairing the roads.
This time, in his surprise inspection, he covered Mission Road, starting from Subbaiah Circle, and then went on to Richmond Road, which, incidentally, is a TenderSURE road. He was accompanied by M Shivaraju, a Congress leader, and other BBMP staff.
The Mayor’s office said the inspection revealed not only potholes and waterlogging, but even the fact that debris was being dumped on the road.
While a Rs 1 lakh fine was imposed on the contractor for the bad condition of roads at Cash Pharmacy, a Rs 10 lakh fine was levied on another contractor for the water accumulation on Richmond Road, just outside Bangalore Club.
The Mayor’s visit triggered prompt action by the BBMP staff with emergency workers swinging into action to force the water off the road after their pumps failed.
On his Facebook page, the Mayor also posted a video of his surprise inspection.
ಟೆಂಡರ್ ಶ್ಯೂರ್ ರಸ್ತೆಗಳ ತಪಾಸಣೆ ಮಾಡಿ , ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆ ದಾರರಿಗೆ (ಕ್ಯಾಶ್ ಫಾರ್ಮಶಿ ಹತ್ತಿರ) ರೂ. 10ಲಕ್ಷ ದಂಡ ವಿದಿಸಲು ಸೂಚನೆ ನೀಡಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಕ್ಲಬ್ ಹತ್ತಿರ 1ಲಕ್ಷ ದಂಡ ವಿಧಿಸಲಾಯಿತು https://t.co/QLr8uYIFYy
— Sampath Raj (@BBMP_MAYOR) July 25, 2018
The expensive TenderSURE roads were promised to be a holistic solution to pedestrian, traffic movement, while having formal spaces for street vendors, garbage pick-ups and underground utilities, such as electric, drainage and sewage lines.
The backers of the project had said then that the high cost of the project would mean that the roads won’t need any repair in the next 20 years.
TenderSURE roads cost four times as much as national highways; but there have already been reports of pavements sinking and waterlogging on these roads.
The Mayor defended the TenderSURE project, but pinned the blame on contractors.
“That’s why I have fined them as they are supposed to maintain them properly. The drain has clogged as there was asphalt blockage at the gradient of the drain. In TenderSURE roads, there should be no waterlogging,” he told TNM.