The road near Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) was laid just a couple of days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to inaugurate the BASE campus.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai instructed the BBMP Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the shoddy work and take appropriate action against those responsible for it.
The show-cause notice said, "The Asphalting work taken up for Mariyappanapalya main road in Bangalore University Campus is reported to be substandard work. There are visuals that the layer of asphalt is being removed by hand."
"By observation of the visuals, it is felt that there is no Standard Operation Procedure followed in the execution of the above-said work. Therefore, show cause notice is hereby issued calling upon your explanation about the said issue along with the test reports and also why action should not be initiated for failing to execute the work as per Standard Operation Procedure and also failing to discharge your duties as Executive Engineer on site," it added.
also lashed out at the Bengaluru's civic body. The High Court wondered whether the President and the Prime Minister should often visit the city and travel on different roads for civic agencies to do their job.
BBMP spent ₹23 crore to repair roads in the city for the Prime Minister's recent visit. The chiding came during the hearing of a contempt petition against Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officers. Manjula P and Sharadamma P had approached the HC seeking restoration of water and sewerage line connection to two of their housing sites in Visvesvaraya Layout. The connections were sanctioned but not laid.
On October 21, 2020, a single-judge bench of the HC ordered the civic agencies to restore the connection to the two sites within two months and disposed of the case. The two women approached the HC a year later with a contempt petition against the commissioners and concerned engineers of BDA and BWSSB as the earlier HC order was not followed by them.
Even the contempt plea is pending since May 2021 but the BDA and BWSSB failed to follow the court order repeatedly. On Thursday, the HC said: "Maybe the condition of roads will improve if the PM and President visit Bengaluru often. Last week you spent ₹23 crore to fill potholes. The PM has to travel on different roads each time for you to do your duty ?"
