Over 200 GBA Engineers Pulled From Pothole Work To Conduct Caste Survey Across Bengaluru

Road repair work across Bengaluru has slowed to a crawl after more than 200 engineers from five municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority were deploying to conduct a state-wide socio-economic survey.

The diversion comes at an inopportune moment, with the Chief Minister's 31st October deadline looming and recent heavy rains tearing apart freshly asphalted stretches across the city.

GBA engineers and staff, who had been working day and night to patch up potholes, are now occupied with door-to-door enumeration for the caste survey. The socio-economic and educational survey, which commenced in the GBA region on 4th October, aims to cover approximately 32 lakh households and has been extended until 24th October.

Around 17,000 personnel have been assigned to the massive exercise, including a significant number of GBA engineers whose primary responsibility was infrastructure maintenance.

An executive engineer spoke on condition of anonymity about the predicament facing staff members. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had warned of stern action if roads were not repaired within a month, but officials have simultaneously been directed to expedite the caste survey. The situation has left engineers fearing they will be caught in the crosshairs regardless of which directive they prioritise.

Contractors who had paused work owing to Ayudha Puja festivities report they are ready to resume pothole-repair operations but face delays due to the absence of supervising engineers and staff.

The government had identified 14,795 potholes across Bengaluru's five municipal corporations, of which 6,749 have been fixed, leaving 8,046 pending.

A senior GBA official told media that about 60 per cent of pothole-filling work was supposed to have been completed by now, but the target appears increasingly difficult to meet.

The official added that work will resume only after the survey concludes later this month. Meanwhile, the recent spell of rain pounding the city over the past three days has worsened road conditions, ripping apart even recently asphalted stretches and creating fresh potholes.

The Deputy Chief Minister had earlier announced a grant of ₹750 crore for pothole filling, but the manpower shortage caused by survey duties threatens to derail the 31st October deadline set by the Chief Minister, who had warned that strict action would be taken against engineers and senior officials if roads are not repaired in time.