3ft crater on whitetopped Mysuru Road stretch poses a risk

BENGALURU: A newly white-topped stretch on Mysuru Road has been dug up again. The pit — three-feet-deep and two-feet-wide — at Hosaguddadahalli bus stop, near Sirsi Circle, is posing threat to motorists and road users, barely five months after the stretch was white-topped.
The whole idea of white-topping the stretch was to ensure its longevity and avoid formation of potholes and craters.Care had been taken to shift all utilities to one side to prevent digging up of roads to fix them. The entire exercise took up to 5-6 months.
BBMP officials told TOI the road had been dug up over a month ago by Bangalore Water Sewage Supply Board (BWSSB) and the utility was supposed to fix the same. “It’s true that we are not supposed to dig up white-topped roads, but under special circumstances, we do permit digging of such roads,” said a senior BBMP official.
Officials said that about a month ago, the BWSSB had taken permission to dig up the road to fix a leaking water pipeline. They, however, were surprised that it hadn’t been fixed yet.
Whitetopping a kilometer-long, 30-foot-wide road with 18cm-thick concrete costs Rs 2.5 crore, but is again being dug up for works.
Kiran Gowda, owner of a restaurant near Hosaguddadahali, said during rain the pit is filled with water, posing huge risk to motorists and pedestrians alike. “I have seen a child fall into the open pit while waiting for a bus,” said Kiran.
A tea stall owner, Paresh, said whitetopping work has been going on for months on Myusru Road stretches and yet the condition is horrible. “They first create traffic chaos by introducing diversions and delaying relaying of roads and later dig up the same roads for various purposes, causing more traffic snarls,” said Paresh.
Despite the chief secretary issuing standing instructions not to dig up any road at least for one year after it’s relaid, city roads are in ruins, thanks to lack of coordination between various civic agencies.