K’taka Dy CM Shivakumar says 96% of Bengaluru potholes have been fixed, citizens collective claims otherwise

He also said that Rs 15 lakh has been provided to each ward to fix the potholes and the BBMP has set up a batch mix unit to repair the potholes.

Additionally, cold asphalt mix units have also been set up to fix potholes even during the rainy season, he said. In response to claims over lack of coordination, Shivakumar also highlighted that with effective coordination between the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and other civic agencies, road excavations have been controlled significantly.

He further said the BBMP has developed a new app to identify and report potholes.

Meanwhile, Rajkumar Dugar, founder of Citizens4Citizens forum, said, “In reality, 96 per cent of the potholes are yet to be fixed. The figure presented by the Deputy Chief Minister is highly unreliable. A single ward will have more than 500 potholes and there are 198 wards in Bengaluru.”

He added, “First of all, monsoon is not the time to fix potholes. It should have been done beforehand. Moreover, the BBMP is not fixing potholes as per the established protocols. They are doing it in a totally unscientific manner.”

Rs 3,450 crore allocated for Brand Bengaluru

Shivakumar said Rs 3,450 crore (Rs 1,790 crore from BBMP and Rs 1,660 crore from state government) has been allocated for the Brand Bengaluru project.

He said the BBMP has approved Rs 300 crore for white topping works in Bengaluru over three years, starting 2023. Further, the BBMP has allotted Rs 200 crore for the subway which is in the DPR (detailed project report) stage and Rs 100 crore each has been approved for road construction and widening projects, integrated Metro-road flyover, and integrated rail and road flyover. The BBMP has also allotted Rs 50 crore for transit-oriented development (TOD) at Banashankari circle, he said.

The whitetopping of roads under BBMP limits is being carried out in eight packages at Rs 800 crore, said Shivakumar.

Awaiting NOC for Sky Deck

According to Shivakumar, the tender for the DPR for the SkyDeck project has been approved and the Letter of Intent (LoI) has been issued. He said that a letter of correspondence to obtain a no-objection certificate from HAL/defence is in process.

Earlier this year, the BBMP had selected Bengaluru-based Designtree Service Consultants Pvt Ltd to develop a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed tower, at a cost of Rs 4.57 crore.

Recently, Shivakumar also conducted an inspection in the 105 NGEF land where the 250-metre-long Sky Deck is expected to be built. Located near the Baiyappanahalli Metro station, the NGEF land is strategically chosen to encourage people to choose public transport over private to visit the proposed tourist destination. The tower will woo tourists with food courts, play arenas, among other amenities.