Will sending pourakarmikas to Singapore fill our potholes?
- Most roads in Karnataka are full of potholes, garbage strewn along the roadside unlike the roads in Singapore
- Karnataka's programme to send pourakarmikas to Singapore will not transform state roads
- Government should have good infrastructure, quality work and pay decent salary to pourakarmikas
- Here are at least five things government, people should do to make state roads look like those in Singapore
FollowWhat is the use of sending pourakarmikas to Singapur when infrastructure in Karnataka roads is not going to change?
Though it is a good opportunity for the pourakarmikas to tour a clean and neat country, there should not be any hopes that they can return to Indian and transform the countries roads and cleanliness.
It is the responsibility of the authorities concerned of the specific departments to have the proper infrastructure and even pay a decent salary to the pourakarmikas.
Pourakarmikas who had visited Singaput in the first batch were in awe on how the entire country looked and was maintained. Apart from giving an account of how beautiful the roads are, I don't know if they can learn new methods to implement in Karnataka, to make it look like Singapur. Because most of it depends on the infrastructure, machinery and the attitude of people.
Firstly, action should be taken to cut of contractors and middlemen in recruiting the pourakarmikas. They should be appointed directly, and the salaries should be deposited in their account than being deposited through contractors. The government should not wait for the pouurakarmikas to go on an intensified stir for demanding a decent salary at the cost of their daily wages. By paying them a decent salary needed to live in this city will make sure that they do not go on stir and the roads are always clean.
However, pourakarmikas cannot be held responsible for the potholes on the roads. It is the result of substandard work of BBMP contractors. Unless there is a check on the corruption and quality material as well as money allotted to the project is used to the full for the cause, the roads will continue to have potholes. Unless this issue is taken seriously and something is done to stop the corruption in this regard even numerous number of raids cannot make the roads of Karnataka look like those in Singapore.
Another important thing is the attitude of people towards public properties including roads and garbage. People do not follow the rules, throw anything from plastic to spit on the roads. Especially when there are notices and warning against throwing the garbage or spitting putt up near a wall, people tend to do the opposite.
Garbage dumped on roadsides can be seen every where despite government warning of slapping a fine. Even to this day many apartments and individual houses do not separate dry waste from wet waste. They are seen dumping the waste on the roadside despite bins kept for this cause.
Even regarding roads, people do not follow traffic rules; heavy vehicles are seen moving inside city roads where they are banned from entering. These roads are built with a capacity of taking in a certain amount of weight. The heavy weight vehicles including lorries laden with sand, stones, iron ore, etc. are also the reason why roads are in bad shape. These vehicles too travel inside the city just because they bribe the officers!
Thus, the government should firstly concentrate on providing infrastructure. However in the name of infrastructure, if more machinery is brought this might lead to reducing the number of pourakarmikas at work.
Thus, there should be a proper plan on how to use the service of pourakarmikas and check the corruption in laying the road and disposing of the garbage. Provide basic facilities to the pourakarmikas like gloves, a pair of shoes, glasses, masks, etc. so that they are not affected by the pollution and toxic garbage.
Till all this becomes a reality, the Indian roads cannot be the ones like in Singapore, nor the quality of work and life of pourakarmikas will be like the one in Singapore.  
