Bangalore: Potholes and craters caused by the recent rains are resulting in traffic snarls in the Majestic area and have put the police in a fix. Unable to get a quick response from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Upparpet traffic police took matters into their own hands and decided to repair the roads.
As the first step, they sought the assistance of private construction companies who were requested to spare earthmoving machines to fill potholes in Anand Rao Circle, Mayura Circle and K.G. Road.
“We have identified the major roads which have craters and instructed traffic police personnel to fill them with whatever help they can get,” Inspector Ravi Kumar said.
The craters and potholes are not only leading to traffic snarls, but also accidents, Upparpet Traffic Sub-Inspector Shivaswamy said, adding that struggling motorists most often blamed authorities for the mess. “Instead of waiting for BBMP officials to repair the roads, we have decided to do our bit,” he added.
Recently, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B. Dayanand had said that the traffic police had conducted a survey to identify over 1,000 major roads which were badly affected during the recent rain.
The report was submitted to the BBMP with a request to repair the roads, sources said adding that since the BBMP failed to respond, the jurisdictional police have taken up the work of filling potholes and craters with the help of local construction companies.
Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Chief Engineer, S. Somashekar said that the civic body has also started filling potholes on a war footing since Tuesday. The officials concerned were waiting for the rains to stop to start work and had requested the traffic police not to fill debris, he said.
“We are aware of the traffic police’s concerns. Based on the report they have submitted, the affected roads have been identified and will be repaired immediately,” he added.
