Bengaluru roadwork has slowed sharply over the past 10 days after Tamil Nadu imposed a three-month ban on the inter-state movement of construction materials, including crushed stone, M-Sand and stone dust. The supply disruption has affected road resurfacing, white-topping and pothole-filling projects being taken up by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
Construction material suppliers in Tamil Nadu’s border districts, including Krishnagiri, have traditionally supplied significant quantities of aggregates, stone dust and M-Sand to Bengaluru. The state government’s decision to restrict supplies to Karnataka and other states has created shortages in the city, according to a report by Vijay Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu introduced the restriction after citing shortages for projects and requirements within the state. The ban is scheduled to remain in force for three months. The decision also followed complaints that suppliers were creating artificial scarcity and contributing to higher prices, the report said.
The disruption has affected the availability and cost of materials required for several types of civic work in Bengaluru. Contractors have told civic authorities that supplies from Tamil Nadu are not arriving regularly and that the prices of available materials have risen significantly.
The affected works include asphalt resurfacing, white-topping and pothole repairs. These projects are being implemented under the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and the shortage has brought several works close to suspension, according to the report. The interruption comes as road improvement activity in the city was already progressing slowly.
A GBA official confirmed that engineers had also verified the supply problem. “Contractors have complained to the civic body that materials are not being supplied properly from Tamil Nadu and that prices are rising sharply. Engineers have also confirmed that the material supply is not coming through. Everything will be normal in another week,” the official was quoted as saying.
The authority has instructed contractors to identify alternative supply routes and sources. Officials said this work has been given priority so that the affected road projects can continue despite the inter-state restriction.
The supply issue places immediate pressure on Bengaluru’s road maintenance programme because the affected materials are used across multiple types of work rather than a single project. Any prolonged shortage could delay resurfacing, white-topping and pothole repairs in different parts of the city, although the GBA has indicated that it expects the situation to improve within a week.
The three-month restriction in Tamil Nadu remains the stated supply constraint, while Bengaluru authorities are pursuing alternatives. The next operational milestone will be whether contractors can secure replacement material sources and restore the flow of roadwork within the timeline indicated by the GBA official.
