Bangalore, the IT city of India, is bearing the brunt of potholes. While road contractors, supposed to render quality road repairs, blame corruption in the government for their substandard pothole filling, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) passes the buck by citing incessant rains as cause for the potholes. Every year, the BBMP is said to be spending Rs 3,000 to 4,000 crore on the road repairs, but residents in the city complain that the potholes are being filled but they do not stand for even two weeks.
The BBMP said that it has found about 30,000 potholes and filled them. BBMP has admitted to no asphalting of roads in the last three years and Magrath Road, a key road in the city, has been repaired just once in the last eight years. Contractors have also admitted to using substandard material because of the bribes they have to pay to councilors and engineers in BBMP.
It is said that the contractors have to pay bribe to BBMP councillors 5-10 per cent and engineers a minimum 25 per cent. Ultimately not even 40 per cent of the targeted work won’t be done. And the road repairs would be of a substandard quality, say the contractors.
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