Pothole, bad road in front of governor’s home fail to goad BBMP into action

Bengaluru: The ongoing tussle between the state govt and the governor may have spilled on to the ‘streets', if BBMP's failure to address a huge pothole and damaged road right in front of Raj Bhavan is any indication. The crater-like pothole and damaged stretch in front of Raj Bhavan gate have been crying for attention for over a week. Yet, no road engineers or officials have made up their minds to fill up the pothole and repair the arterial road.Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's neglect is being seen by many as an extension of the growing confrontation between Congress govt and Raj Bhavan. Located at the curve in front of Raj Bhavan's main gate, the pothole and damaged road have become bone-breakers for motorists who commute on the stretch daily.Sudhesh Kumar, a techie and resident of Yelahanka who travels on this stretch while commuting to work on MG Road, pointed out that the pothole has been neglected for over a year."The pothole is impossible to ignore as it is exactly along the turn, and any motorist would veer to the right while turning and end up bumping into it. How can BBMP ignore a pothole and bad patch of road right in front of Raj Bhavan, which is frequented by VVIPs, diplomats and others on a daily basis? Is it due to their cavalier attitude or have they wilfully ignored filling up potholes? Why should people have to flag potholes every time? Can't the civic body on its own locate and fill them up," Sudhesh asked.Deputy chief minister and Bengaluru development minister DK Shivakumar, while holding a review of BBMP on Sept 1, had set a deadline of 15 days for officials to fill up all potholes. With less than a week left for that, citizens continue to flag craters on several prominent streets — in both central business district areas as well as other parts of the city, including KIA Road.Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot has been under fire ever since he granted permission to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah in the Muda scam. As if this wasn't enough, the governor returned 11 bills in the last eight months seeking clarifications, leaving the entire Congress camp angered.