Every year there is news about the loss of limb and life due to potholes on Bengaluru roads. Politicians across the spectrum announce funds to repair them, but little happens on the ground. In 2015, a group of citizens led by Vijayan Menon filed a PIL in the High Court of Karnataka demanding accountability from BBMP who they held responsible as the “owner and custodian” of all roads in Bengaluru per Article 12 of the Constitution.

Read more: Roads not completed, users overcharged — the many potholes in implementing highway projects

After multiple deadlines given to fix the potholes, Bengaluru still remains riddled with craters.

In an interview, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai recently announced that his government will make Bengaluru pothole-free. His comment came in the wake of several accidental deaths linked to potholes in Bengaluru and flooding due to rain.

He said: “The state government has released around Rs 8,000 crore. Of this, around Rs 2,000 is for drains and Rs 4,000 is for road and other infrastructure. We had one round of making roads on the periphery of Bengaluru.”

Bengalureans, however, are tired of such announcements and promises, most of which finally have little to show in terms of outcome. What we really want to know, without frills and false hope, is:

• What is the problem and are there any solutions to fix them?
• How do we fix accountability for the never-ending problem of potholes?
• Why is it such an issue, is it technology? (and most importantly,)
• How can we actually implement lasting solutions?

Read more: How roads are built in Bengaluru. Or not

If you are interested in exploring these questions, and hearing experts and citizens from different walks analyse the issue and discuss solutions, join the discussion below, to be hosted by Citizen Matters Bengaluru this Friday.

You can join in the conversation on our Twitter account.

Our Speakers

Suchitra Deep

Suchitra Deep is co-founder and partner at Firm Terra Architects, Bangalore. She is the founder of Malleswaram Social, a civic initiative that engages in local issues and an active member of Sunaad, a Hindustani classical music group. She is also a meditation trainer.

Suchitra Deep tweets at @suchitradeep

Lt. Col. Ravindra Singh

Lt. Col. Ravindra Singh hails from Bangalore; he has completed his BSc from Christ College, Bangalore; BE in Civil Engineering from College of Military Engineering, Pune; PG in Construction Management from NICMAR.

Lt. Col. Ravindra Singh as the CEO of ELCITA tweets from @ELCITA_IN

Vijayan Menon

Vijayan Menon, President of Citizen’s Action Forum CAF

Vijayan Menon tweets at @VijayanMenon17

Srinivas Alavilli

Srinivas Alavilli is a citizen activist based in Bengaluru, working on a variety of issues. He is the co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, and is currently Head, Civic Participation, at the NGO Janaagraha.

Srinivas Alavilli tweets at @srinualavilli

Raghu Rajagopal

A citizen activist from Koramangala 4th block RWA, actively engaged in monitoring flood mitigation.  80ft road white-topping, etc.

Raghu Rajagopal tweets at @Raghu96139461

This event will be moderated by Meera K, Co-founder of Citizen Matters, Meera K tweets at @meerak

Also read:

• Plastic waste in roads: Is that the solution cities must consider?
• Rs 15 crore spent on potholes over two years, yet Mumbai roads continue to be death traps
• Creating ‘incentives’ for good roads in the city
• Bengaluru’s potholes cost lives and money, but here’s how you can hold BBMP accountable