BBMP readies audit report on the condition of 41 underpasses

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath told DH that the road infrastructure division has completed auditing 41 of the 53 underpasses located in the city

After a software engineer died in the flooded KR Circle underpass, the BBMP has finished auditing 41 underpasses, including railway bridges.

The civic body plans to post the report on its website in a day or two. It is noteworthy that these underpasses are not up to the standard, despite the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) lavishing money to maintain them.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath told DH that the road infrastructure division has completed auditing 41 of the 53 underpasses located in different parts of the city. “I have directed the officers concerned to make the report available to the public on the official website,” he added.

So far, the BBMP has uploaded audit reports of 14 underpasses, including the one located at KR Circle where Bhanurekha drowned after the car she was travelling in with her family submerged on May 21. Her family blamed the BBMP’s negligence for the 23-year-old’s death.

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A look at the report has revealed that the BBMP is deploying its own resources or has signed deals with private firms to maintain these underpasses. It has outsourced the task to ensure that the gradings are free of obstacles so that water can quickly drain out.

The civic body has signed annual maintenance contracts to manage underpasses in Nayandahalli, Anand Nagar (Ballari Road), Cantonment railway station (connecting Jayamahal), RMV Layout, and the Yelahanka railway underpass.

Underpasses located in CNR Road, Kuvempu Circle (towards New BEL Road) and Mehkri Circle are being maintained by private parties who are given rights to display advertisement boards.

Frequent flooding of these underpasses has prompted experts to point out that the BBMP is not maintaining them well by clearing garbage, mud, and silt from the drainage points.

The report has suggested roof covers across three U-shaped underpasses — Sankey Road (near Golf Club), Cauvery Theatre (between Bhashyam Circle and Ballari Road), and KR Circle (towards Nrupathunga Road).

Flooded underpasses closed

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Anucheth told DH that certain flooded underpasses in the central part of the city, including those at KR Circle, Nehru Circle and Shivananda Circle, were closed. “Traffic movement was slow in the city overall,” he said.

“Two stretches of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) — from Hebbal to Nagawara, and from Kadubeesanahalli to KR Puram — witnessed severe traffic jams due to waterlogging. This was due to plastic, silt, sand, and other debris clogging the stormwater drains along the road. A lot of construction activity is going on in these areas, leading to debris getting into the drains.”

“We took the help of metro workers to unclog the drains, so that water would recede faster, and traffic could be restored,” he added.