Bengaluru: The road between Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology and Nimhans — a crucial stretch used daily by hundreds of patients and their attendants — got a hurried makeover Wednesday, as the civic workers rushed to fill large potholes just hours after an inspection by Bengaluru Central city corporation commissioner Rajendra Cholan.“We are taking up repair works on a war footing after deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar ordered all potholes across the city be fixed immediately. All the roads in central Bengaluru are being repaired,” a road and infrastructure official from Bengaluru Central Corporation said. The corporation had received complaints about pothole-ridden roads near Kidwai, Nimhans, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health. TOI visited the area at 1.45pm on Wednesday afternoon while the potholes were yet to be filled. However, many commuters complained that this should have been done long ago. Yogesh TS, an ambulance driver who is attached to Kidwai institute for the last 25 years, said: “A two-wheeler collided with an ambulance two days ago while trying to avoid a pothole. When vehicles suddenly change lanes, it poses a risk to ambulances.”Another driver working for an NGO said: “The poor condition of the road was especially hard on patients. I feel sorry for them. It sometimes looks like politicians want visible potholes in the city so that they can later take the credit for fixing them,” he said. A patient from Tavarekere said buses often fail to stop at designated points, forcing her to walk till the Nimhans gate despite her frailty. “We are already tired, and the rain only worsens our plight,” she said. At 3.15pm, TOI noticed that the civic workers were filling up the potholes using Eco-fix. The workers said the potholes will be filled up using hot-mix. Eco-fix is a ready-to-use mix made from industrial waste such as iron and steel slag.
