BBMP software brings parastatal agencies under single home page to fix potholes

BENGALURU: After directions from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner on addressing the pothole issue across the city, and the IT corridor in particular, the BBMP Road Infrastructure Department has come up with in-house software that brings officials and other parastatal agencies under a single home page for monitoring and fixing potholes. The move comes after the Bengaluru Traffic Police filed a report identifying over 3,000 potholes across Bengaluru and their impact on the safety of motorists and smooth traffic. From the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Public Works Department (PWD) and Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), every agency will come on a single home page aiming at fixing, monitoring and reporting potholes. BBMP Road Infrastructure Department Chief Engineer Raghavendra Prasad, who is the brain behind the move, said, The parastatal agencies, which dig roads for their service and fix them back, will have to share the photo of work completion along with the location details. The claims will be verified by BBMP at the central office, just by a single click. In all, 1,112 (29%) potholes, out of 3,870, have been fixed by various agencies as on August 24, and the remaining will be fixed soon, he said. Engineers of other agencies have been directed to ensure that aggregators fix road patches and potholes under their ambit as per the Indian Road Congress guidelines. A senior engineer said that while road infrastructure department has to fix 2,498 potholes, the zonal offices have a target of 959. Officials said that on the website, the potholes that have been fixed will be shown in green, while the ones that have to be fixed will be in yellow colour.