Fixing potholes on roads leading to High Court, houses of ministers not enough: Karnataka High Court to BBMP

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body of Bengaluru, should not be oblivious to the bad condition of city roads passing through areas where common man lives, the Karnataka High Court said on Thursday [Vijayan Menon v. Secretary Urban Development Department].The exercise of filling up potholes should not be confined to roads leading to the High Court or to the residence of ministers, a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice SS Magadum observed."The problem is the lens which the corporation is using is not very transparent. In the sense, through that lens, you see potholes only on this Kumara Krupa road, the road which is going in front of 7 ministers' bungalow, the road which is going to the high court. But that lens does not see potholes of other localities, where the common man lives," the Bench remarked.These observations came while hearing a petition filed by one Vijayan Menon in 2015, which drew the attention of the Court to the poor conditions of roads in the city.On the issue of recurring potholes, the Court was told that after filling potholes, the same resurfaces within two to three months of filling.The High Court, therefore, directed BBMP to ensure that quality is not compromised while repairing potholes on city roads"BBMP shall ensure that quality is maintained while filling up the potholes because it is noticed that the potholes which are filled up, again becomes a pothole, after two to three months," the Court said..The counsel for BBMP told the Bench that it had entered into an agreement with a single agency to fill up potholes and that this was being done everyday. However, due to heavy rains, sometimes the work gets interrupted, the Court was told. The counsel further reassured the Court that a status report with all photographs would be filed before the High Court. .Noting that the process adopted by the BBMP is not very transparent, the Court opined that BBMP is not comprehending or trying to fix the potholes present in localities, where the common people reside. Fixing potholes in roads leading to residences of Ministers and the High Court is not enough, the Court emphasised..The matter will be heard again on November 11. ."Are you serious that Bengaluru roads have only 400 potholes," Karnataka High Court to BBMP.Previously, a report was submitted by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) recording the issues raised by city residents on the poor conditions of roads in the city..In March, the neglect and apathy of BBMP to repair roads and footpaths in Bengaluru did not go down well with High Court which had pulled up the municipal corporation for it stance on the issue.