Bengaluru road caves in 4 months after opening at Kundanahalli because a pipe under the road broke and water seeped in.
A service road built as part of a ₹ 19.5-crore underpass in Bengaluru caved in on Sunday — just four months after the inauguration and Congress slams the BJP government calling it out for corruption.
Congress leader Nagaraj Yadav said this is another instance of “40 percent” corruption, a reference to alleged cuts taken by the government in contracts. The government has dismissed such charges as baseless political vendetta.
Rahul Gandhi said, “Karnataka Govt is the most corrupt govt in the country. They take 40% commission on every single transaction. 13,000 Pvt schools have given 40% commission. Don’t take my word for it. BJP MLAs themselves are saying this is the most corrupt govt: Rahul Gandhi, in Hiriyur, Karnataka.”
Karnataka Govt is the most corrupt govt in the country. They take 40% commission on every single transaction. 13,000 pvt schools have given 40% commission. Don't take my word for it. BJP MLAs themselves are saying this is the most corrupt govt: Rahul Gandhi, in Hiriyur, Karnataka pic.twitter.com/l5NwrMeBlS
— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2022
Mr. Yadav, a member of the Legislative Council, demanded that a criminal case be filed against the contractors and government officials. “There’s a reason why we have been demanding a dedicated minister for the city. Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) is himself the Bengaluru minister in charge, and he has failed to keep up with his responsibilities.”
The repair was going on at the Kundanahalli underpass that connects the eastern suburbs to other parts of the IT hub. An Executive Engineer working on the civic body’s Signal Free Corridor project, of which this road is a part, told NDTV: “The cave-in happened because a pipe under it broke and water seeped in over the last few days. That’s why the soil was loose.”
The pipeline has been repaired by the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board, which is responsible for underground utilities. The breakdown affected the Cauvery river water supply in some areas for up to 24 hours, said reports.
But fixing the road cave-in would take a few more days. The contractor will have to do it free of cost as the underpass is covered under the Annual Maintenance and Defect Liability clause, said officials in the civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
He also questioned the contractors’ association: “Where is the quality of work? And then they will come out saying ‘we cannot do quality work because of corruption.” The contractors have kept silent.