While the city of Bengaluru’s civic agency faces criticism for the city’s pothole-filled roads, which this year caused a number of fatal accidents, PotHoleRaja, a civic tech start-up, is collaborating with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and locals to fix potholes on the city’s roads in an effort to lower the number of accidents.
The firm, which was established in 2016 by Prathap Bhimasena Rao and Sourabh Kumar, has filled around 30,000 potholes nationwide.
In July of this year, the business built a road outside the Ecoworld facility in Bellandur utilising GridMats, a proprietary product. The road’s construction material is recycled polypropylene.
The goal of GridMats is to create durable, sustainable roads and pavements out of plastic trash. The system does not employ steel reinforcing like those found in concrete roadways built the old-fashioned way.
PotHoleRaja’s director, Kumar, claimed that the stories of individuals dying as a result of potholes inspired them to launch the business.
“The examples and news reports of individuals passing away due to potholes were undoubtedly a trigger for both of us. When Prathap was working abroad for various firms and going to other nations, people often used to refer to India as a beautiful country with a wonderful culture but used to add that the roads are terrible. This was for Prathap another crucial factor in starting PotHoleRaja. It was undoubtedly unpleasant to hear this tale, he said.
Kumar explained GridMats in more detail, stating that “it is our unique technique and it is entirely created out of recycled plastic” (polypropylene plastic waste). There aren’t any additional chemicals or additions in it. When we originally established the organisation, we recognised that determining the strength of the foundation was the toughest challenge. We wanted to test the viability of using additional materials.
As of right now, we have 5,000 square metres of GridMat placed in cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai, and we’ll shortly begin operations in Hyderabad as well. Additionally, there are inquiries from North India. People from Africa have contacted us and expressed interest in bringing our technology to that continent.
Kumar stated, “We have built a connecting road out of GridMats. It is located outside the Ecoworld Campus in Bellandur. In the endeavour, we used about 3,000 kg of plastic garbage. Compared to the conventional method of laying concrete roads, it is roughly 40% less expensive. On the Budigere Road, we have also built roads inside a well-known apartment complex. Additionally, we have constructed roadways within factories in Hosur and Tumkur, both of which see a lot of high traffic,” he added.
BBMP and PotHoleRaja collaborate on numerous road construction projects. “We collaborate with BBMP on numerous road development projects, the majority of which are supported by CSR, but we do so in order to introduce more innovation. For instance, in Peenya, the drain covers and the complete footpath were constructed using GridMat reinforcement. We make sure the roads are built for modern use and can be copied in many parts of the city,” Kumar added.
Additionally, residents approach PotHoleRaja for road maintenance. According to Kumar, many people stole their cold asphalt mixture to patch little potholes.
Source: Indian Express
