Poor quality of civic work in Bengaluru was back in focus after a part of the Sumanahalli flyover, located on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in West Bengaluru, collapsed on late Friday evening, even as vehicles were moving on the stretch.
Vigilant traffic police at the junction quickly swung into action and diverted traffic and alerted the engineers of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). What began as a pothole due to stagnation of rainwater eventually became a large crater as the days wore on. With no intervention by the BBMP engineers, the damaged concrete part collapsed on Friday onto the busy Magadi Road that passes beneath the flyover.
Mayor Gautham Kumar, who inspected the stretch, said, “I have ordered diversion of traffic as repair works need to be taken up. The damage is across 6X4 sq ft area where concrete slabs have crumbled and fallen off. The area has been barricaded considering the safety of passersby.”
Sumanahalli flyover, which is barely nine years old, crumbled and collapsed on the road below late Friday evening. One side of the flyover, from Nagarabhavi towards Dr. Rajkumar Samadhi, will be closed until the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike fixes the problem. Officials were unable to say when the repairs will be completed though Mayor M. Gautham Kumar said that the civic body will fix the problem within 10 days.
The flyover is situated on the Goraguntepalya-Nayandahalli section of the Outer Ring Road, over the busy Magadi Road connecting Nagarabhavi and Dr. Rajkumar Samadhi. It was built by the BDA in 2010 and handed over to the BBMP in 2016.
BBMP officials believe that an unattended pothole gave way due to stagnant water because of rains and heavy vehicular traffic.
According to locals, the hole appeared around 6.45 p.m. immediately after which a traffic constable and motorists alerted the police and BBMP officials, who rushed to the spot.
BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar directed officials to submit a report after a quality check. Acknowledging that the civic body had not maintained the flyover properly, Mr. Anil Kumar said, “There are many roads across the city that are poorly maintained. I have directed the officials to make sure roads are well maintained and water does not stagnate on them.”
Officials from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and consultants visited the site on Saturday morning to take stock of the situation. Repair works started in the afternoon.
The BBMP had started removing the remaining construction debris from the site and this exposed the steel bars, which were used as the base of the road on the flyover.
Officials and consultants noted that the flyover had never been maintained. It was constructed by BDA in 2010 and handed over to BBMP only four years ago. The engineers were heard discussing that when the BBMP took over the flyover, it did not check its condition.
Marks of water leakage and seepages are clearly visible, which only shows that the flyover needs a lot of repair.
Info source- hindu, deccanherald, newindian express, bangalore mirror
