Bengaluru: These days to fix a pothole, Bengaluru civic officials start by making it bigger. Once it is cut into a more regular, rectangular shape, the 'Python' gets to work.
A jet of air is blasted into the newly-reshaped pothole. Then, it is filled up with a mixture of stone chips and asphalt. Finally, a heavy roller flattens the filling and a pothole is repaired in a matter of minutes.
"This is an imported machine called the Python 5000. It is imported from Canada. Including the customs duties when it reaches the city it costs Rs 3.5 crores. The advantage of this machine is that it is a combination of three or four machines," municipal engineer YN Balakrishna told NDTV.
Potholes have grabbed headlines in Bengaluru in the recent weeks and the pressure on city officials to mend them went up considerably after a woman was killed when the two-wheeler being driven by husband crashed after hitting a pothole this month.
According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or BBMP, the city's municipal corporation, there are some 4,000 potholes spread across the city. The authority has promised to repair all of them by the end of October.
The Python is at the forefront of that effort, the officials say.
"We are expected to leave the patch to dry for half an hour but time does not permit so sand or quarry dust is put on top immediately to stop the tar from sticking to vehicle wheels," Mr Balakrishna said.
Not cumbersome like road-rollers, the Python moves swiftly to the next pothole. One down, a few thousand more to go.
A jet of air is blasted into the newly-reshaped pothole. Then, it is filled up with a mixture of stone chips and asphalt. Finally, a heavy roller flattens the filling and a pothole is repaired in a matter of minutes.
"This is an imported machine called the Python 5000. It is imported from Canada. Including the customs duties when it reaches the city it costs Rs 3.5 crores. The advantage of this machine is that it is a combination of three or four machines," municipal engineer YN Balakrishna told NDTV.
According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or BBMP, the city's municipal corporation, there are some 4,000 potholes spread across the city. The authority has promised to repair all of them by the end of October.
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"We are expected to leave the patch to dry for half an hour but time does not permit so sand or quarry dust is put on top immediately to stop the tar from sticking to vehicle wheels," Mr Balakrishna said.
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