13,000 potholes filled in Bengaluru so far, says Shivakumar; plans Rs 1,100 cr road upgrade

Bengaluru, Sep 30 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said 13,000 potholes in the city have been filled so far, and said his plan was to find a "permanent solution" to Bengaluru's road issues.

He said he has instructed officials to chalk out a Rs 1,100 crore action plan to develop 550 km arterial roads in the city.

Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in-charge of Bengaluru development, on Tuesday inspected pothole repair and road works underway in various parts of the city.

According to officials, about 4,000-5,000 potholes identified will be fixed in stages.

Last week, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave 30 days to officials to ensure that all the roads in the city are motorable.

"The officials are following the government's orders and are filling the potholes. In addition, I have instructed them to prepare an action plan worth Rs 1,100 crore for the development of 550 km long arterial roads," Shivakumar said.

Noting that it will take 26 days for concrete work at the junctions of arterial roads, and discussions are being held on traffic control during this period, he said, "My plan is to find a permanent solution to Bengaluru roads. The CM has promised to provide Rs 750 crore for filling the potholes." "It has been decided to release Rs 1,100 crore for the development of ward-level roads in the constituencies of MLAs. Instructions have been given to them to use this grant only for improving the roads." Pointing out that 13,000 potholes have been filled so far, the Deputy CM said there is a photo and video along with GPS record for each pothole, and information can be downloaded and rechecked.

“No one had given a call to the public to report potholes. We have developed an app on which the public can report potholes. We are also taking the help of the police to identify potholes. Such an initiative is only available in Karnataka. Potholes are in every city, as Bengaluru is a global city, hence the issue is being highlighted by you (media) too,” he said.

Reiterating that potholes are in Delhi too, Shivakumar said he can take a delegation of BJP leaders and show them.

"It (potholes) is there in every city, I don't blame anyone... let BJP come, let's go. Let's also meet the Prime Minister and central ministers, who can give money (for Bengaluru)," he added.

The state government has drawn flak for the poor state of roads in the city.

Several prominent people, including industry veterans in Bengaluru like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have urged the state government to immediately intervene.

The outrage against the condition of roads gained momentum after online trucking platform BlackBuck decided to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues. PTI KSU ROH