Potholes keep happening, says Karnataka IT minister

Karnataka IT/BT Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Thursday said potholes on roads “keep happening” and urged citizens to refrain from “damning our own city”.

Narayan was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting with the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) to discuss Bengaluru's infrastructure woes, especially on the 17-km stretch that houses several multinational firms.

"Potholes are a dynamic process. As and when we fill them, new ones come up," Narayan said. "I'm not saying the city is pothole-free. Potholes keep happening. We shouldn't keep damning our city. Instead, we must be constructive," the minister said.

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Narayan said this on a day when a couple filled up a pothole by themselves in his Malleswaram constituency.

The minister spoke about the complication in managing city roads. "City roads are unlike national highways. National highways don't have utilities beneath the road surface. City roads have water lines, sanitary lines, Bescom lines and manholes. There are no dedicated ducts, a feature only on white-topped and TenderSURE roads," he said.

The government is asphalting 13,000-km of the city's roads. "It's not that we don't have funds. We're in November and the rains aren't letting up. Imagine the challenge involved," Narayan said.

During his meeting with ORRCA, Narayan said BBMP administrator Rakesh Singh would hold a meeting and take stock of the infrastructure progress on November 14.

"The government will solve problems related to traffic congestion, underground drainage and metro works on priority basis. Besides, service roads in the city would also be upgraded," Narayan assured.

Narayan called upon companies to decide on spending their corporate social responsibility (CSR) on infrastructure development on the Outer Ring Road. "Sustainable development will be possible only when citizens join hands with the government. Ownership has to be everybody's," he said.

Nasscom regional head Bhaskar Varma, Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) managing director Srinivas Rao Chandan, Goldman Sachs' Ravi Krishnan, VMware's Ramkumar Narayanan, ORRCA representatives, Mahadevapura Zone special commissioner Dr Triloka Chandra, IT/BT director Meena Nagaraj, BBMP Chief Engineer BS Prahlad and Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Ravikanthe Gowda were present.

'Malleswaram works by Dec'

Ongoing civic works in the Malleswaram constituency - white-topping, drainage, drinking water pipes and so on - will be completed by December, Narayan said. "Once all the works are completed, there will be no need to dig up roads in the constituency for the next 30 years," he claimed.