Bengaluru, 31 Oct

Bengaluru’s roads remained unfixed and pothole ridden, despite Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s 31 October deadline. He dismissed a reporter’s question on the deadline on Friday, saying “go ask (Deputy Chief Minister) DK Shivakumar” and stormed away.

When Siddaramaiah had set the deadline on 20 September, officials claimed to have identified some 15,000 potholes, of which 8,000 were yet to be filled.  However, when asked how many potholes were remaining, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said “numbers are not important”.

Rao said that despite official’s best work, the potholes continued to pop-up across the City. He attributed the potholes to rain and noted that high-traffic areas was slowing repair works.

He said that most roads would be fixed in two-three days.

The pothole menace has become a major problem for the ruling Congress Government. The Opposition BJP has said the City’s roads remain unfixed because of rampant corruption in the ruling party and labelling the potholes as “death traps”. Industry leaders have also hit out at the Congress.

‘Did DKS tell you he will become CM?’

Siddarmaiah hit back at a reporter, who sought the Chief Minister’s reaction to reports claiming that Shivakumar had set 21 November as the date to take oath as the next CM.

"Has he (Shivakumar) told you? How did you come to know?" Siddaramaiah shot back.

When the reporter replied that he had read it in a newspaper, the Chief Minister retorted, "How will you see it in the newspaper? Which newspaper? I didn’t see it anywhere, though I read all the newspapers."

Speculation has been rife in the State about a “November Revolution”.