Public money squandered on re-laying fine concrete roads in Bengaluru's KR Puram

At least three concrete roads in KR Puram’s Jagadish Nagar that are in good shape and pothole-free are broken once again for re-laying, shocking local residents.

On Thursday, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) started work on a new concrete road by breaking 4th main road of Jagadish Nagar. This road construction is part of a broader plan to improve the area’s infrastructure by building new roads on 2nd and 3rd main roads.

The entire project will span over one kilometer, and the BBMP has deployed an earthmover to begin work on the roads.

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The BBMP, which usually does not entertain requests for road repairs in areas where roads are in a poor condition, has taken up works to build new roads in Jagadish Nagar, despite no such request from the local residents.

Some of the residents suspect that the decision to develop the roads was made without an on-site assessment and was done within the comfort of the BBMP office.

When DH contacted engineers in-charge of the area regarding the road work, Vijay Kumar, assistant executive engineer, claimed that the work was necessary because the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had recently undertaken digging operations in the area. However, the board did not undertake any such work on the three roads in question.

Assistant Engineer Keshav Murthy told DH that the road is being dug up to lay a concrete road. Residents urged higher officials to act on the local engineers for wasting public money.

“These three roads are in good shape, but they are breaking them. This is a sheer waste of money and inconvenience to the residents,” one of them said.