Dy CM DKS unveils white-topping plan for B'luru

NT Correspondent

Belagavi: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar announced that white-topping would be utilised for the development of additional roads in Bengaluru.

He made the comments in the Legislative Council in Belagavi during the ongoing winter session on Thursday.

Shivakumar revealed that he would call a meeting of all 28 Bengaluru Urban district MLAs to discuss the white topping plan in the near future.

Despite recent accidents and road caving incidents being attributed to white topping, the Deputy CM is sticking to this method.

Addressing concerns, he assured that the state government is working to address the issues and improve the implementation of white topping in road development.

Stating that the State government had allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the white-topping project, Shivakumar clarified that it would be carried out in phases.

Responding to MLC HS Gopinath, he emphasised the importance of a planned approach, especially considering the indiscriminate digging of roads for various installations.

The Deputy CM highlighted the government's prioritisation of whitetopping, pointing out they lasted 25 to 40 years.

Experts flag issues

Ashish Verma, a professor of civil engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, said if roads are properly constructed, they should last for at least five to six years.

He said that laying roads is a basic skill that is taught in the first year of every civil engineering programme. However, in Bengaluru, roads develop potholes within a few months because of white topping and poor construction practices, he added.

They say white-topped roads are effective only in specific traffic conditions and climate conditions.

Experts said that inadequate compaction of the subgrade (leveled road bed before streets are laid) leads to uneven settling, and cracking.