Latest news with #KamaleshJain
Time of India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Sunken feeling: Rs 5000 crore spent on Bengalururoads in 2 years but potholes are back!
1 2 Bengaluru: The patchwork that the city roads witnessed in recent times has gone. Potholes are back! Short spells of rain have created endless potholes on the roads, turning people's daily commute into an ordeal in the tech capital. "The traffic does not move at a decent speed in the city. When it moves, we are only riding into backbreaking potholes. It is quite pathetic that the roads are becoming the city's nemesis and those in power are not paying attention to it. Why can't the country's tech capital give pothole-free roads or fix potholes before these become craters?" is the question many ask as the average time to travel 10km in the city touched 42 minutes Wednesday evening (according to TomTom traffic index). Though BBMP chief commissioner Maheshwara Rao has been hitting the ground on a daily basis and ordering filling of potholes, they seem to be popping up at a much faster pace. Even TenderSURE roads such as Convent Road which is dotted with schools, are broken at multiple places. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru "In the past decade, if the money spent on road development is accounted for, every street in the city should be gleaming. But it is hard to find even a single stretch without potholes," said Kamalesh Jain, a resident of Sarvagnanagar. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like You Won't Believe the Price of These Dubai Apartments Binghatti Developers FZE Get Offer Undo Bengaluru has 13,344km of roads, with 1,300km of them being arterial and sub-arterial. In just the past two years, Rs 5,365 crore was spent on road development, including asphalting, and white-topping. Yet a single drive across the city shows that this money has gone down the drain quickly. "Bengaluru receives nearly 1,000mm of rainfall annually, but the roads are in such bad shape that even one or two days of rain make them look like the moon's cratered surface. Navigating these roads becomes risky... Dodging one pothole often leads straight into another, resulting in injuries and accidents, especially for two-wheeler riders," said Naveen Reddy, a resident of BTM Layout. In many outer zones of the city, roads resemble muddy fields. Shoddy workmanship has led to the tar peeling off, leaving behind loose gravel. "Even when people lose their lives or suffer spinal injuries due to potholes, BBMP—which is responsible for road maintenance—acts as though it's none of its concern. Potholes dominate not just ward-level and arterial roads but even flyovers. Every year, several people lose their lives due to pothole-related accidents, yet there is no permanent solution," said Kiran J, a resident of Shantinagar. "BBMP either uses poor quality asphalt or they just fill only thin layers of asphalt so that they can raise more bills and make money," he added. -------- Inset - 1 BBMP says working relentlessly A senior BBMP official of road infrastructure said, "To identify and fix potholes, zonal task forces have been set up; they are authorised to approve funds and float tenders for pothole repairs. They are also expected to work on complaints raised by traffic police and the public." "BBMP engineers in each ward are responsible for immediately filling up any pothole that appears. If they fail to do so, disciplinary action is supposed to follow," the official said. BBMP chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao told TOI, "We are working relentlessly to fix the potholes across the city and we are also informing citizens to raise complaints and send the photos of potholes to the BBMP engineers, who will address the issue promptly." ------ Inset - 2 Method of fixing According to the National Roads Congress guidelines, a pothole must be cut into a square shape, dust removed, tar filled properly, and rolled for compaction.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Waterlogged expressway, gridlock grip Bengaluru's silicon spine
Bengaluru: A heavy downpour from Sunday night into early Monday paralysed Bengaluru's tech corridors, turning key arterial roads into waterlogged traps and leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. Among the worst-hit areas were Koramangala, HSR Layout, BTM Layout, and Marathahalli, all part of the city's IT and startup backbone. The 9.9-km Electronics City Elevated Expressway—connecting Central Silk Board to Electronics City—was shut for hours due to waterlogging, severely affecting employees headed to companies such as Infosys, Wipro, and Biocon. With no official work-from-home advisory issued by many firms, IT professionals scrambled for alternative routes, only to encounter traffic snarls and flooded underpasses. An ELCITA spokesperson confirmed that flyover closures—partly due to ongoing NHAI work—further crippled traffic below. "It took me over 30 minutes just to cross the jam near Electronics City," the official said. Silk Board Junction, infamous for its congestion, became impassable after stormwater flooded service roads and choked the adjoining underpasses. Interstate buses from Kerala and Tamil Nadu added to the mess as they queued up at the flooded junction. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch Bitcoin và Ethereum - Không cần ví! IC Markets BẮT ĐẦU NGAY Undo "I was stuck for over an hour at Silk Board. The water was up to the tyres, and the bus driver couldn't even access the luggage compartment," said Sai Kiran V, a chartered accountant returning from Andhra Pradesh. At Manyata Tech Park, employees arrived to find the campus submerged. Entry points were under knee-deep water, and several workers turned back home. "It's become an annual joke now," said Kamalesh Jain, a financial employee. "We're expecting BBMP to start collecting boating tolls next." Visuals from the area showed knee-deep water across entry points, with commuters stranded and several choosing to return home. While BBMP officials struggled to deploy pumps, exasperated techies were left wondering if they needed a boat pass to reach the office. A fallen tree near Kalamandir, HAL, further complicated traffic flow towards Marathahalli bridge, while a vehicle breakdown at Hennur underpass contributed to the citywide gridlock. Along the Outer Ring Road, flooding crippled movement near the Agar flyover and Hennur–Hebbal stretch. In HSR Layout, a short 1-km stretch from Agara to Silk Board took commuters over 40 minutes to cross. "Cabs weren't accepting rides. It felt like walking would've been faster," said Mounika J, a techie who reached her workplace over an hour late. Authorities also shut down stretches near Marathahalli after a tree fell close to Kalamandir Junction. The incident compounded traffic chaos on HAL Road and further disrupted access to tech hubs in Whitefield and beyond. A traffic officer from Madiwala said over 25 personnel were deployed at major junctions. "The situation was aggravated by waterlogging at Bommanahalli and Silk Board. We tried to ease movement, but volumes were too high." 'Copy-paste flooding' returns to Balagere Rd Hamsaveni.N@ Residents of Varthur, Balagere, and Panathur began their Monday wading through a now-familiar problem—Balagere Road submerged once again after overnight rain. The stretch, a key link between the tech belt and the Outer Ring Road, was inaccessible until midday. A photo of the flooded road has gone viral—not for its shock value, but because it mirrors an image from last Aug almost identically. Locals have dubbed it "copy-paste flooding." "The picture hasn't changed," said SS Sangappa Desai, a resident. "The stormwater drain is clogged, there's no proper SWD connectivity, and the drain system is broken." Last year, the same image was digitally altered with a boat to mock the situation. This year, while the humour has worn thin, the water remains—and so do the complaints. Sridhar M, who commutes daily via the road, said it was shut until 1pm. "No repairs, no accountability. We've reported it repeatedly, but nothing changes." Parents noted that the only temporary relief is that schools haven't reopened yet. With many set to start between 20 May and late June, residents fear the return of waterlogged school runs unless infrastructure is urgently addressed.
