Potholes in Hyderabad are money-spinners; repairs wash away in a rain

Hyderabad: Potholes have become money-spinners. Civic body teams simply dump bituminous material into potholes instead of filling them scientifically to ensure that they are not damaged by rain and vehicles. As a result, the same potholes are being filled up again and again, and new ones are also coming up.

Lack of quality bituminous mix is also a reason for the material getting washed away or eroding in a day or two. The potholes filled ahead of the Ganesh idol immersion procession were back in a day.

As per GHMC figures, over 53,000 potholes have been filled from June to September 17. The civic body has spent Rs 10 crore on just filling up potholes and on small patchworks this monsoon.

On an average, Rs 2,000 is being spent on each pothole. “This is on a much higher side given the fact that the methodology of cleaning the potholes, cutting its edges, spraying liquid bitumen (emulsion) and then filling it up with BT mix at 120ºC and then steamrolling it are not being done,” said a retired contractor of GHMC.

Even the stretches that were scraped with milling technology on the Begumpet-St Ann’s Road and re-laid have developed potholes. The public outcry over bad roads on social media directed municipal minister K.T. Rama Rao is only helping the GHMC officials to make more money.

“Frequent filling of potholes means more money as most officials involved in road construction and maintenance get a cut. Not more than 3 per cent bitumen is being mixed with small pounded-stones against the standard norm of 5 per cent bitumen. Why doesn’t the government come out with a system wherein money is recovered from officials or contractors who laid the road in case it is damaged before the assured time-period. I have spent almost 30 years in this field as a contractor. If it is not the poor quality of roads that is the reason for early damages, then let the officials prove me wrong,” said GHMC Contractors Association general secretary R.  Hanuman Sagar.

Inquiries revealed that even the recarpeting of roads is being limited to 40 mm thickness against the standard norm of at least 70 mm, due to which the roads are getting damaged in one or two spells of rain.
Social activists and citizens said a CBI inquiry or at least a CID inquiry should be conducted into the road repairs and road recarpeting operations of GHMC to unearth the scam and ensure every paisa of tax-payers’ money is accounted for.
“Why doesn’t the government order an inquiry into the roads projects and maintenance works taken up by GHMC? The roads are getting damaged even when officials are constructing it and when contractors are doing the job. An inquiry will bring out the reasons for the early damage of roads,” said activist and advocate S. Venugopal.
GHMC chief engineer K. Suresh Kumar admitted that roads were re-carpeted at 40 mm thickness and over 70 mm thickness was applied only when a new road was laid. “There is no truth in the allegations that bitumen is not being mixed as per norms. The GHMC has its own BT mixing plants at Chudi Bazaar and Krishna Kant Park wherein 5 per cent BT is mixed. There is no time given for the BT mix dumped in the potholes to get compacted as public outcry is more about potholes and they want immediate solutions. If time is given to follow norms, the repairs will stay longer,” he said.
GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy said he was aware of the allegations that money was being made in filling up of potholes. “I am closely looking into the issue. No one will be spared if they compromise with quality. what I have found is that quality is not the issue. It is the time factor. There is no time to clean the pot hole, cut the edges, spray the emulsion, put the BT mix and then roll it,” he said.
“If any life is lost in an incident just because a pothole has not been attended to by GHMC, there is no replacement. Even if more money is being spent, the priority is to keep filling the potholes as many times as is required until we get dry weather to recarpet the stretch so that there is no loss to life,” the GHMC commissioner said.