Who's to blame for this 'crater'?

BWSSB dug up busy Devanga Hostel Road to plug a leak barely a month after it was newly asphalted by BBMP; commuters say traffic has been reduced to a crawl

BWSSB dug up busy Devanga Hostel Road to plug a leak barely a month after it was newly asphalted by BBMP; commuters say traffic has been reduced to a crawl

Lack of coordination between the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has led to a major bottleneck developing on a busy road in the city, say reliable sources close to the government bodies.

Hole lot of problems: Devanga Hostel Road serves as a connector
between Double Road and Lalbagh Road. Pic/Madhusudan Maney

Not even a month had passed since the Devanga Hostel Road was newly asphalted when the BWSSB dug it up to plug a water leak. This has created a 'crater' right in the middle of the busy road, say commuters, slowing traffic to a crawl. The road serves as a connector between Double Road and Lalbagh Road.

"The road is narrow as it is and there was always a problem during peak hours. Now, with the crater in the middle of the road, traffic movement is reduced to a snail pace," said a commuter who uses the road daily.

Suresh, BBMP Executive Engineer, Sampangirama Nagar, said, "There was a water leakage on Devanga Hostel Road and the BWSSB had dug it up to plug the leak. I will inform the Karnataka Land Army Corporation, which is in charge of filling potholes, and get work started immediately. Usually, when the BWSSB or BESCOM dig up roads, we attend to the damage and send them the bill."

Unhappy motorists
When MiD DAY spoke to motorists on the road, they said they were frustrated by the bad shape it was in. "Just look at the condition of the road. I take this road everyday as my office is on Lalbagh Road. They dug it up three or four days back and did not bother to repair it.

The hole in the middle of the road is too big and deep to be called a pothole. I have seen small vehicles getting stuck there, blocking the road completely," said Kumar,u00a0 a two-wheeler rider.

Sunil Prasad, another motorist said, "This road was asphalted very recently. It's sad to see its condition deteriorate so quickly. The officers must act immediately and attend to it."

Who's responsible?
"The condition of the road is the result of lack of coordination between the BBMP and the BWSSB. The problem could have been avoided if they had asphalted the road after the work was done. Neither body bothered to inform the other," said a source.

Meanwhile, the condition of other roads in the city has also gotten worse after the city received two days of continuous rain. Small potholes have become bigger as the work of filling potholes has not been completed yet.

Senior BBMP and BWSSB officials were unavailable for comment.