Motorists struggle on flooded roads without seeing potholes

Water-logged potholes: Vehicles in trouble

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: Roads that become flooded during the rains in the city are posing a threat to the lives of motorists. Two-wheeler riders are getting into accidents without seeing the water-filled potholes.

When rainwater stands on the road, motorists have no idea about the presence of potholes or the depth of the potholes. In addition to driving in the rain, while riding without the road water splashing on them, if the vehicle hits a pothole, it loses control. Hundreds of two-wheeler riders are facing trouble due to this loss of control during the rains.

Even when there is no rain, accidents continue to occur on many roads due to potholes. Not all cases reach the police station. It is rare for accidents to be reported as accidents caused by trying to avoid potholes or potholes. However, hundreds of unreported accidents occur in the city due to potholes and end in fights.

Although BBMP engineers say that ‘potholes are being closed quickly, we are working on them every day’, there is no road without potholes in the city. Two-wheelers are the most likely to be involved in accidents due to potholes. There have been many cases of two-wheeler drivers losing control and falling when they avoid potholes or inevitably enter them. In many cases, when one vehicle rider falls, the riders of another or more vehicles fall. There are also chain accidents. 

Potholes are also a nightmare for auto drivers. If the front wheel or one of the rear wheels falls into a pothole, it becomes difficult to control. Due to this, cases of the auto overturning or falling on the vehicle next to it are also common in many areas of the city. 

‘Even after a little rain, there is water on the road in SJP Park Road, K.R. Market. It is impossible to tell where the potholes are on these roads and where they are not. Every time it rains, there is no difference between a road and a pothole filled with rainwater. “Every time it rains, auto and two-wheeler riders keep falling off the potholes,” said trader Mohammad Sheikh.

“There is constant traffic on the Old Madras Road at all hours of the day. It is difficult for two-wheelers to move between buses and trucks. When it rains, I have fallen off the water-filled potholes many times. Many of my friends have also had such accidents,” said Raghu, a resident of Indiranagar.

 Pothole-free roads remain as promised by CM, DCM, Chief Commissioner

Potholes: A hazard in all seasons

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: Even though the rainy season and summer are over and the monsoon has started again, the promise of making the city's roads pothole-free has not been fulfilled. The disasters caused by potholes filled with rainwater have not reduced either.

Pothole repairs do not start in summer. Repairs are started a few days before the rainy season. BBMP officials and engineers say that if the rain starts, the potholes will be closed as soon as the rains stop. They say that the tender has been issued and the contractors will start work. By the time the work order is given, it starts raining again. They again give the excuse that potholes cannot be closed in the rain. Thus, potholes continue to increase in the city at all times, posing a problem for motorists.

BBMP officials have been saying since January that potholes will be closed and road maintenance will be done before the rainy season. Even though the pre-monsoon has started with a bang and the monsoon rains have started, potholes on the city roads are increasing.

Potholes on the city roads cause many types of disasters, and when it rains, the roads are flooded. In such cases, vehicles, especially two-wheeler riders, fall and get into trouble. Hundreds of such cases are not recorded.

When Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited the city in September 2024, they instructed BBMP engineers to take action to prevent potholes on the roads and gave them a deadline of one month. Although the repair work was brisk then, it almost stopped later.

‘Although the number of potholes is increasing day by day, it does not come to the attention of BBMP engineers. They asphalt good roads overnight. "They don't even put a single bit of asphalt on the pothole on the road next to it," complained Srinivas, a resident of Malleshwaram.

BBMP engineers, who used to give figures that there were 1,700, 1,900 potholes in all zones of the city, wrote a 'record' by closing 16,000 potholes in September 2024 when Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar made an order and gave a deadline of 15 days to close the potholes.

Zonal commissioners and chief engineers, including the Chief Commissioner, worked on the roads day and night to repair the potholes. As soon as the Deputy Chief Minister returned from abroad, he worked on the very first day he wanted to receive his farewell. That is why he showed in large pictures that the potholes, which were said to be around two thousand, had been repaired to 16 thousand. After that, the apathy towards the potholes continued.

The then Chief Commissioner of BBMP, Tushar Girinath, said that ‘thousands of new potholes are emerging every day’, but all the chief engineers and zonal officers kept saying the same thing. They gave the excuse that the continuous work of repairing potholes will never end. Therefore, in the last six months, potholes have not been identified and statistics have not been collected. They have retained the information given by the traffic police as statistics.

Repairs in a hurry: Maheshwar Rao

The work of closing potholes on main and sub-main roads is underway. Although it cannot be said that they have closed everything, the repair work is going on in a hurry. It has been instructed to close the potholes on ward roads with the funds of the zones. A tender has been called for it and the repair work will begin in a few days. Since the rainy season has started, work will be done during the rain break. It has been instructed to keep hot mix and cold mix ready. In case of emergency, the potholes will be repaired by applying wet mix, said BBMP Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao.

647 Potholes Repaired in 10 Days: Lokesh

‘The traffic police also said that there are about 647 potholes on the main and sub-main roads. In addition, road potholes are being closed based on the complaints received by the BBMP, including the ‘Road Attention’ app. The existing potholes will be closed in 10 days. If they are closed from one side, new potholes will appear on the other side. This is a continuous process. We are working at a fast pace. The contractors have been instructed to keep all types of mixes, including cold and hot, ready, and the potholes are being closed,’ said Lokesh, Chief Engineer of the Road Infrastructure Department.

DCM, who remained in his statement, rides a bike!

‘BBMP staff have created a record by closing 16 thousand potholes. However, I do not believe their words. The bike that I used during my college days has been prepared. I will go to all the roads in it. The officials only show the main roads. I will observe the internal roads by riding a bike,’ said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had said in September 2024.

The Deputy Chief Minister, who did not believe the words of the BBMP engineers, had said in his own style that he would check the potholes and make the roads pothole-free. However, even after making that statement, Shivakumar has not even got on a bike for eight months, nor has he ever ridden on the city roads. Therefore, the BBMP engineers have also stopped identifying the potholes on the roads. They keep making many excuses for the repair work. They are claiming the same ‘record’ of repairing 16,000 potholes in 2024.

BBMP TDR for Greater Bengaluru

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

Bengaluru: The Urban Development Department has issued an order to use the ‘Development Right Certificate (DRC)’ or ‘Transfer of Development Right (TDR)’ letters obtained under the jurisdiction of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in the ‘Greater Bengaluru’ jurisdiction.

The BBMP jurisdiction covers the area of ​​more than one local planning authority, including the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (BMICPA). 

Thus, the BBMP had submitted a proposal on July 27, 2020, requesting that DCRs be allowed to be used in any area of ​​the BBMP.

Considering this, the government has amended Section 13 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTCP) Act, 1961. This means that DCR or TDR can be used anywhere within the BBMP or Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) and in the areas that will be included in GBA in the future. The order issued on June 10 stated that the jurisdiction of any planning authority including BDA, BMICPA will not hinder this.

Peenya Industrial Area now ‘Peenya Special Investment Zone’

Bengaluru: The Commerce and Industry Department has ordered that the city’s Peenya 1, 2, 3 and 4th phase industrial areas be named ‘Peenya Special Investment Zone’.

The Peenya Industrial Area, which is spread over an area of ​​1,416 acres in several survey numbers of Nelagedarahalli, Laggere, Chokkasandra, Peenya, has been designated as ‘Peenya Special Investment Zone’ as per the Karnataka Special Investment Zone Act- 2022. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has been designated as the ‘Regional Development Authority’ for this zone.

The ‘Peenya Special Investment Zone’ has been designated as an industrial township and all management has been entrusted to the KIADB.

 BBMP: No OC for a building constructed from July 1

No building plan without e-khata

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: No building plan approval or building commencement certificate (CC) will be available from July 1 for sites under BBMP jurisdiction if they do not have e-khata.

The e-khata system for digitization along with re-verification of site documents was implemented in the BBMP jurisdiction in September 2024. Although draft e-khatas have been prepared for 25 lakh sites, about 5 lakh final e-khatas have been issued so far.

All owners of sites and buildings under BBMP jurisdiction must obtain e-khata. Although no deadline has been given for obtaining e-khata, lakhs of owners have not yet obtained the draft e-khata. Lakhs more owners have not submitted documents to obtain final e-khata.

As a first step, e-khata is being made mandatory for obtaining building plan and CC. In addition, even if buildings under construction are already required to obtain an Occupancy Certificate (OC), it will be mandatory to submit an e-Khata.

As per the Supreme Court order, the BBMP has implemented rules from January to be implemented on unauthorized buildings and buildings being constructed in violation of the plan, and buildings without OC and CC cannot be provided with electricity, water, and sewerage connections.

The issuance of building maps to those with ‘manual khata’ will be stopped from July 1. Applications will have to be submitted through the ‘Nambike Karthi’ website, where a temporary building map will be available within a day. E-Khata will be mandatory while applying for a building map online. With this, there is no need to submit other documents related to the property. Since property tax, purchase deed, location of the property (latitude, longitude), owner’s photo, Aadhaar are all entered in the e-Khata itself, all these documents will be available online. Only the documents related to the map will have to be submitted, informed the BBMP Urban Planning Department officials. 

The temporary plan , which is created in a day under the ‘Nambike Nakahe’ system, must be confirmed by the concerned Town plan assistant director within the time limit. If it is not rejected with reasons, the building plan will be automatically approved in the software. The Chief Commissioner has directed the Joint Director of Town Planning to take disciplinary action against the officers responsible for Auto-approval. 

‘E-Khata: The process is easy’

‘Property owners can easily obtain e-Khata through BBMP’s website BBMPeAasthi.karnataka.gov.in. Instead of paying extra money to brokers and getting cheated, they can also obtain e-Khata online, Bangalore One, and from Jansevaks,’ said Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner, Revenue Department, BBMP.

‘To obtain e-Khata, Aadhaar, purchase order number, property tax payment number, BESCOM account number, and property images should be submitted in the application. The final e-Khata will be available within a couple of days of submitting the documents. About three thousand applications are received every day, and three thousand e-khatas are being issued every day, he said.

If the owner calls the website https://janasevaka.karnataka.gov.in/ and 080-49203888, the ‘janasevakas’ will apply for the e-khata and upload the documents from the doorstep. A fee of ₹45 will be charged for the e-khata application, ₹5 for each page scanned and uploaded, and ₹115 for the door-to-door service of the Janasevaka. If the number of pages of documents increases, ₹5 will be added for each page.

25 lakhs; Draft e-khatas uploaded

4,94,882; Applications submitted for obtaining final e-khata

4,84,975; Final e-khata explanation

79,089; E-khatas distributed in Bommanahalli zone

76,309; R.R. E-Khatas distributed in the urban zone

75,167; E-Khatas distributed in the Mahadepur zone

66,707; E-Khatas distributed in the southern zone

65,091; E-Khatas distributed in the Yelahanka zone

49,361; E-Khatas distributed in the western zone

45,334; E-Khatas distributed in the eastern zone

27,917; E-Khatas distributed in the Dasarahalli zone 

24 thousand applications for new Khatas

24,082 owners of properties in BBMP who do not have Khatas have applied for new Khatas.

On the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who said that ‘all the plots in the city should get Khatas and come under the tax jurisdiction’, the BBMP has implemented a system to get new Khatas from January to bring all the properties under the tax jurisdiction. The application can be submitted on the website https://BBMP.karnataka.gov.in/NewKhata. 

‘More than five lakh property owners in the city do not have any BBMP account. About 3,900 new accounts have been distributed. 19,777 applications are pending in the login of revenue officers. About two thousand applications are pending with case workers. A lot of documents have to be verified to issue a new account. Although there is a time of 60 days to complete the process, the Revenue Officers (ROs) have been instructed to complete it quickly,’ said Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner, Revenue Department, BBMP.

 Recruitment from the Education Department remains a promise

BBMP: Guest teachers are the only Option

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: The corporation has decided to appoint 378 guest teachers through SDMC and CDC, failing to fulfill its promise of two years ago to appoint teachers for BBMP schools and colleges.

The process of removing the outsourcing system and directly appointing teachers/lecturers for BBMP schools and colleges from the Education Department has not started even after a year and a half of the promise.

Teachers were being recruited on an outsourcing basis through private organizations in BBMP schools and colleges. The contracts were being renewed every year. In May 2024, an agreement was reached to hire teachers on an outsourcing basis through detective and security agencies. When there was resistance to this, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had said that teachers would be appointed for BBMP schools from the Education Department itself.

‘15 to 20 percent of the teachers teaching in BBMP schools and colleges do not have the appropriate qualifications. The School Education and Literacy Department provides head teachers and assistant teachers to BBMP schools. The number of permanent teachers is decreasing day by day. Not all the outsourced teachers are eligible to continue,’ said the then Chief Commissioner of BBMP, Tushar Girinath, on January 8, 2024.

‘Teachers and lecturers in BBMP schools and colleges should continue through agencies as before. ‘Outsourced’ should be removed and BBMP should appoint them on contract basis. Service security should be provided,’ demanded the outsourced teachers and went on strike.

Teachers and lecturers are appointed by the School Development and Supervision Committee (SDMC) and the College Development Council (CDC). BBMP officials had said that those who are eligible can apply and join. This process was done in the year 2024-25 and guest teachers and lecturers were recruited.

BBMP, which has calculated the shortage of teachers in the year 2025-26, has decided to recruit guest teachers and lecturers through SDMC and CDC. The Chief Commissioner has issued a circular in this regard, instructing that the process of recruiting guest teachers should be completed by June 16.

‘Our experience and hard work are priceless’

‘It was promised that the Education Department would remove outsourcing and make permanent appointments. Although this process was supposed to be done in the last academic year itself, since it was the first year, we will recruit guest teachers. They had said that permanent appointments would be made next year. However, guest teachers are being recruited for the academic year 2025-26 as well. Those who have taught for 10-15 years have to prove their achievements every year. Our experience and hard work are not valued in BBMP,” lamented a teacher.

‘The government has a proposal’

‘The education department has a proposal to recruit teachers for BBMP schools and colleges. No decision has been made yet. Therefore, guest teachers are being appointed. The guest teachers who taught in the 2024-25 academic year were released from service in April itself. They can also come as guest teachers for the 2025-26 academic year. They will be given priority in the ratio of 1:3,’ informed an education department official.

93 Kindergartens

15 Guest Teachers to be posted

16 Primary Schools

16 Guest Teachers to be posted

35 High Schools

100 Guest Teachers to be posted

20 Undergraduate Colleges

181 Guest Lecturers to be posted

4 Degree Colleges/ 2 Postgraduate Colleges

66 Guest Lecturers to be posted

Guest Teachers/ Lecturers' Honorary Remuneration

₹19,366.20; Kindergarten, Primary School

₹22,840.65; High School

₹25,697.10; Undergraduate College

₹27,897.50; Degree College 

₹30,897.50; Postgraduate College

₹25,697.10; Computer Guest Lecturers

₹22,053.05; Computer Guest Teachers

 * Fee as per guideline rate of 5%

* Minimum 30 feet road mandatory

* Cost of getting A-Khata is around ₹3 lakh

All plots under BBMP, BDA are legal

B-Khata will be A Khata; get all the facilities

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: B-Khata plots under BBMP and BDA will get all facilities along with A-Khata, for which a fee of 5% of the guideline rate will have to be paid.

The corporation will stop the process of issuing B-Khata in BBMP limits, and A-Khata will be available for all existing B-Khata plots or buildings. If the people of a plot or a block apply to the corporation to issue A-Khata for their plots, it will examine everything and take action. Under the guidance of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, all these rules have been formulated by the officials of the BBMP Urban Planning Department and its proposal has been submitted to the government.

The private road next to the B-khata plot should be at least 30 feet. Otherwise, the owners of the plots on both sides should agree to give up the deficient area equally on the road and register it. That is, if there are B-khata plots on a 25-foot road, the remaining five feet should be left by the plots on both sides and two and a half feet each. This will be the first criterion. 

Once the 30-foot road is fixed, that road will be declared a public road as per rules 225-226 of the BBMP Act. The owners of the B-khata plots have to pay a fee of 5% of the guideline rate fixed under the Registration and Stamp Act to the BBMP. The fee for a 30-foot x 40-foot plot with a guideline rate of ₹5,000 is about ₹3 lakh. Along with this, there are other expenses of about ₹25,000. After paying this, the A-khata will be available. All the facilities of the corporation, including the building plan, and the facilities of BESCOM and Jal Board can be obtained.

All the plot holders with B-khata on the survey numbered land can apply together or separately. BBMP urban planning officials informed that the process will be completed and all the documents, including A-khata, will be provided to those who apply.

If there is a 30-foot road, no registration is required. If a fee of 5 percent is paid as per the guideline rate, the remaining processes will take place. If the road with B-khata plot is maintained by BDA or BBMP, then the BBMP officials will declare the road a public road after the application is submitted. Due to this, the name of the old owner in the plat will change. No one will be able to claim it as their property in the future.

This facility is available only for a single plot of 20 guntas or 20 thousand square feet. If there is a single plot of more than this, it is mandatory to have 15 percent garden and at least 30 feet of road. Revenue layouts can also regularize all their plots under this system. There is no need for a land conversion process.

If a building has been constructed on a B-khata plot, they will also get an A-khata and a map. If there is a situation where it is not possible to leave a 30-foot road, the plot will get an A-khata. However, the building will be recorded as unauthorized.

There are about 3.5 lakh B-khata plots under the BBMP and BDA limits, all of which are expected to get A-khata and be regularized.

Setback: Regularization up to 15 percent

A proposal is before the state government to regularize setback violations in buildings constructed under BBMP limits up to 15 percent.

BBMP has submitted a proposal to exempt residential building setback rules. Currently, a 5% violation can be regularized in the setback. This will be increased to 15%.

In addition, there is a proposal to exempt residential buildings built on small plots from the setback rules. When constructing a residential building on a plot with a width of 20 feet from the road side, a three-foot space (setback) should be left only in front. In plots up to 30 feet, there is no need to leave space behind the building. When constructing a building on a plot from 30 feet to 40 feet, space should be left around it according to its size. The BBMP has submitted a proposal to the government to amend the zoning rules in this regard.

Ground floor reserved for parking; permission for 4th floor

It will be made mandatory to reserve the ground floor of a building for parking in the city.

BBMP is giving permission to ground floor and three-storey (G+3) buildings. Henceforth, the ground floor should be limited to parking. If it is used in any other way, BBMP has made a rule to disconnect the BESCOM and water board connection.

Buildings with ground floor reserved for parking will be allowed to build a fourth floor (G+4) with the same setback. This facility will be available for buildings up to 21 meters high.

Those who have already built G+3 buildings, if they completely reserve the ground floor for parking, will also be allowed to build another floor. BBMP urban planning officials said that it has been decided to implement such a system to reduce parking on the road.

Park mandatory in apartments

It will be mandatory for apartments built in the area of ​​2,000 square meters to 10,000 square meters under BBMP and BDA to develop 15 percent of the land as a Park.

In this regard, the Urban Development Department has issued a draft notification amending Section 13-E of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and changing the zoning rules of the Revised Master Plan-2015.

A park has been made mandatory in the layouts of dozens of sites, and similarly, such a change has been made mandatory in apartments with hundreds of houses, said urban planning officials.

In addition to the garden in 15 percent of the land, the setback has been increased to 6 meters. This will allow space to be reserved for growing plants and trees around the apartments. These measures are being taken to retain rainwater in the city and control flooding in the Rajakaluves.

In the case of non-residential, mixed-use apartments, the garden area has been fixed at 10 percent and the parking area at 5 percent.

Buildings between 55 square meters and 2,000 square meters will be charged a garden construction fee instead of allocating land for the garden. 5 percent of the guideline rate will have to be paid as a fee. The draft notification states that the planning authority should maintain a separate escrow account to receive this fee. There is a 30-day period to file objections.

‘Sankey Lake: Preserve the MudBank’

‘Sankey Lake: Let the MudBank remain’ 

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

Bengaluru: Citizens for Sankey has demanded that the MuDBank in Sankey Lake be preserved.

‘A large area in Sankey Lake has been developed with concrete, and the dilapidated MudBank should be preserved as a natural ‘mud Bank’. It should not be concretised in any way,’ the ‘Citizens for Sankey’ has written a letter to BBMP’s Special Commissioner of Lakes Department, Preeti Gehlot.

‘We are not opposing the construction of a Track in the lake. But it should not spoil the eco-friendly environment. There is only a small area of ​​mud Bank left in Sankey Lake. It should be strengthened and preserved,’ they have demanded.

‘Many species of birds are in Sankey Lake. They build nests and live with their young. A natural habitat is necessary for biodiversity. Therefore, if the walking track lined with plants is kept free from soil, it will be beneficial for birds and insects,” said.

“The water flowing into the lake is treated due to the presence of soil. The groundwater is recharged. The soil acts like a ‘sponge’ and retains moisture,” said members of the ‘Citizens for Sankey’ of the 

Sadashivnagar Residents Welfare Association.

Full letter goes like this…

We are writing to urgently request that you retain the last remaining natural mudbank at Sankey Tank Lake and not cover it with concrete or gabion walls as part of the current walkway development

To be clear, we are not opposing the construction of the walkway. However, this must not come at the cost of total ecological destruction. The small patch of mudbank remaining is the last soft edge of the lake and it is ecologically irreplaceable.

Why this mudbank must be preserved:

Critical for biodiversity: Birds such as cormorants, purple moorhens, herons, and many others depend on muddy, shallow edges to feed, nest, and rest. Insects, amphibians, and small reptiles also use these moist zones for survival. These species cannot adapt to vertical, stone-reinforced edges like gabion walls.

Essential for lake health: Mudbanks naturally filter runoff, stabilise shorelines, and allow for groundwater recharge - functions that gabions and concrete cannot perform.

Vital during droughts: Last year, during the drought, water levels in Sankey Tank fell to alarming lows. One reason is the increased concretisation, which has eliminated the lake's natural ability to retain and slowly release water. Mudbanks act like sponges they absorb and hold moisture, supporting the lake's resilience.

Gabion walls are not a one-size-fits-all solution: While gabion walls may help with erosion in certain sections, converting 100% of the lake's edge into hardened surfaces is ecologically disastrous. Experts recommend keeping at least 20-30% of any lake edge natural and porous. Sankey Tank has already lost most of its soft shoreline - this final patch must be preserved.

Protected by environmental law: The Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority Act (2014)and Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules (2017) both require the protection of the ecological character of lakes. Concreting over every last natural edge violates the intent of these policies.

Our request:

Continue the walkway plan, but 

Leave the last natural mudbank untouched, without covering it with gabion walls or concrete

Protect and maintain this patch as a living shoreline, essential for biodiversity and water health

We are happy to meet your team to explore alternatives that balance ecological preservation with public access. We urge you to act immediately before irreversible damage is done.

Citizens for Sankey
(Sadashivnagar Residents Welfare Association)