B’luru: Where lies the road, amid potholes?

When a school bus ferrying 20 children falls into a pothole and the children have to be rescued by pulling them through the emergency exit and when riders fall into gaping craters on roads injuring themselves, the glaring truth about Bengaluru is quite obvious: The roads need a massive overhaul and nothing less.

On Monday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar provided a ray of hope announcing that Bengaluru is set for a major push in road development with an allocation of Rs 1,100 crore for repair and construction work. He assured that the state government is committed to building smooth, pothole-free roads. The amount being allocated for each Assembly constituency in Bengaluru ranges from Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore.

Well said, no doubt but the perplexing question is whether these huge funds will be utilised in the proper manner and for the right purpose and will result in better and smoother roads at the end of the day? Even school children are worried which is not a good thing when they should be enjoying their childhood - they have brought out a video explaining the trauma they face on their journey to school every morning and back home in the evening. Maybe, even their stomachs must be churning after the bone-breaking ride on city roads with the potholes taking over every stretch.

Thousands of crores have been spent on doing and redoing Bengaluru’s roads every year and yet, the potholes reappear with amazing regularity every time, the rains begin. It is a sad reflection on the workmanship of the contractors and engineers assigned the task of providing us good enough roads befitting the Silicon Hub of the country.

A vicious circle rules when it comes to road quality with the contractors blaming politicians and civic officials for extracting  their ‘pound of flesh’ in the form of commissions and ‘cuts’ before releasing bill payments. Politicians on the other hand throw up their hands saying that enough funds have been provided but corrupt officials and contractors fail the city by engaging in shady work practices.

And the way out? If those in the corridors of power are listening, vigilance committees of responsible citizens in each area should be formed to keep a close watch on each civic project taking up with the Rs 1100 crore. No bill should be approved unless this vigilance committee inspects the road work taken up and is thoroughly satisfied that that it meets the desired standards. One can be sure that there are enough retired bureaucrats, engineers and activists in every corner of the city who would be more than willing to be part of this civic vigilance exercise after all those back-breaking journeys on city roads. They should be roped in to be part of these committees and be treated with respect by those in power. Their recommendations should be the final word as far as road quality is concerned and not that of officials and contractors, with the nexus between them quite well known.

Ultimately the purpose is to make sure funds set aside for Bengaluru’s road development are not siphoned away by politicians or bureaucrats. And if these vigilance committees are formed and do their task dutifully, Bengalureans will surely have a lot to smile about.