CAG report says Bengaluru roads extremely dangerous

Bengaluru: The roads in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits are extremely dangerous, according to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). "These roads have 19 to 20 hazards per kilometre," the report noted.

The Karnataka State Road Safety Authority's report from CAG on the performance audit was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. The survey on the condition of the roads in the Karnataka capital, called Silicon Valley of India, was carried out from 2014 to March 2021. The report was prepared by analyzing various data, including documents maintained by the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority, issuance of driving licenses and 108 ambulances. The State highways, major district roads and national highways have an average of 8.87, 8.43 and 7.39 hazards per km, respectively. The CAG report cited various faults, including errors in road design, panels and speed controllers.

Whereas, 1,737 hazards have been identified on 90-km of BBMP range, on average, 19.36 hazards are identified per km. Due to potholes, messy sidewalks, inadequate drainage system, road problems are being caused, said the report.

Around 290 roads and 49 drainage system were reviewed for this study. Inadequate road separators are also responsible for accidents on the BBMP roads and National Highways. Unexpected entry of pedestrians, cattle and vehicles on to the roads is also leading to accidents. The report suggested that the road maintenance agencies and the police department should take note of this. According to the road assets data obtained from BBMP, of the 1,400 km long road, 43% of them have no sidewalk. Wherever there are sidewalks, they are used for shops, hotels, vehicle parking, dumping waste and to install electricity transformers.

The report said the target set in the Karnataka State Road Safety Policy, 2015, was not realised as fatal accidents accounted for 30% of the road accidents in 2020 compared to 17.32% in 2015, though the number of fatalities declined by 22.24%, from 10,856 in 2015 to 9,760 in 2020. The government brought out a policy in 2015 to make roads safe. The policy was followed by the enactment of the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority Act, 2017. The Act provided for the establishment of the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority (KSRSA), the main objective of which was to reduce accidents and mortality by 25% and 30% respectively, by 2020.