BBMP identifies 264 irreparable potholes in Bengaluru

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which has taken up pothole-fixing works, has declared 264 of the identified potholes are “irreparable” and requiring a partial makeover.

On August 11, the BBMP received a list of 4,614 potholes across the city from the Bengaluru Traffic Police. After filtering them, the BBMP identified 3,995 potholes within its jurisdiction. Among these, the East Zone recorded the highest number with 784, followed by Mahadevapura (638), the South Zone (593), and Bommanahalli (520).

Of the 3,995 potholes, 264 were found to be worse than regular potholes, as they extend more than 8 to 10 m in length and are wider than usual.

Raghavendra Prasad, Chief Engineer (Road Infrastructure), admitted that the damage in many of these stretches is beyond basic repair and requires fresh relaying due to the extent of deterioration.

“More such stretches will be identified once the ongoing pothole-fixing works are completed. We will study the damage and come up with suitable methods to fix such stretches,” Mr. Prasad told The Hindu.

Dashboard for complaint platforms

Mr. Prasad further revealed that his department has developed a unified dashboard that integrates all BBMP applications and helpline platforms. This system will consolidate citizen complaints about potholes onto a single dashboard, which will then automatically assign the issue to the executive engineers responsible for repair.

He urged citizens to upload pictures of damaged roads on official complaint platforms so that repair works can be taken up promptly.

However, commuters on the city’s outskirts have accused the civic body of evading responsibility. Manoj Kumar, a resident of Varthur who commutes daily via Sarjapur Road, noted that the BBMP often ignores his complaints by citing “jurisdiction” issues.

A senior BBMP officer dismissed these allegations, stating that the BBMP promptly repairs potholes listed on official grievance platforms within its limits, though he admitted there have been delays in some cases. He attributed the delays to the earlier absence of a centralised monitoring system, which has now been addressed through the new dashboard.

Mr. Prasad explained that the dashboard helps identify and assign responsibilities to other agencies responsible for certain stretches. For example, potholes have been categorised for repair by agencies such as BMRCL, BDA, Bescom, and others. The progress of all such works is also being tracked.