Bengaluru: PM Modi visit makes roads pothole free

Bengaluru: Ironic. When most of the roads in the city are resembling the surface of the Moon, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) scrambled to fix roads that were to be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in the city to witness the touching down of Vikram, the lander, on the Moon’s surface.

It took BBMP just two days to fill potholes, clear speed-breakers and take down hoardings on 250 stretches spanning over 20 km. Senior officials inspected and identified areas that needed to be touched up to ensure a smooth travel for the Prime Minister.

The action was taken after Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar specifically asked BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar on Tuesday to monitor the patch work and to ensure that there are no problems during Mr Modi’s visit. Also strict orders were issued to the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) to ensure uninterrupted power supply at places to be visited by Mr Modi.

“Our officers have been sweating it out to repair the roads on time. Usually we get 15 days to improve the roads, but this time, we got only a few days notice. The ramps at the Mehkri Circle grade separator and road in front of ISRO office near Peenya, which had been dug up by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to lay pipelines, are among the major portions that were restored,” an official said.

The Prime Minister, who landed at the Yelahanka Air Force Station on Friday night, stayed at a private hotel in northwest Bengaluru and witnessed the landing of Chandrayaan-2 at ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network in Peenya.