Given the incessant rains lashing the city and the deteriorating condition of roads, the city’s civic body had imposed a three-month ban on all road digging in the city, except ongoing works. However, ever since the ban was imposed two weeks ago, several utilities have sought exemptions and dug up roads even as Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) continue to dig roads illegally to lay Optic Fibre Cables (OFCs) unabated, making the three-month ban dead on arrival.
The Kommaghatta Main Road in Kengeri, newly relaid ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on June 20, was dug up by TSPs to lay OFCs. “The road was dug up just days after the PM’s visit and was relaid again. Neither was the TSP stopped nor was it penalised for digging up a newly relaid road,” said Prashanth Kumar, a resident of the area, adding that the same TSP was now digging inner ward roads in the area with no civic official stopping them.
Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath conceded that TSPs were violating the ban on road digging in the city. “There is a clear ban on road digging and we have instructed all zonal commissioners to book criminal cases against TSPs if they are found digging up roads,” he said. Recently, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) booked a criminal case against representatives of Reliance Jio for digging a recently relaid road near Lal Bagh. However, in many other instances, no cases are being booked.
