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Ludhiana: Heavy rain casts the spotlight on poor quality of roads
Heavy rainfall in the city over the past month has blown the lid off the tall claims made by the municipal corporation (MC) and Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), as even newly-constructed roads which were repaired recently in Model Town and Pakhowal Road have started wearing out, reflecting the poor quality of materials used
Heavy rainfall in the city over the past month has blown the lid off the tall claims made by the municipal corporation (MC) and Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), as even newly-constructed roads which were repaired recently in Model Town and Pakhowal Road have started wearing out, reflecting the poor quality of materials used.
Residents and shopkeepers in the areas rued that the authorities have been taking up repair works to cover up their failure in keeping a check on quality. Potholes can again be witnessed on newly-constructed roads and gravel is spread on road portions, increasing the risk of road accidents.
Arvind Sharma, a shopkeeper on the Model Town-Jawaddi Road, said, “The road was constructed by LIT in November and it has been repaired four times after the material started wearing off. But, potholes can again be witnessed at the road and gravel is spread around the area. Roads were constructed in almost the entire city to woo voters ahead of assembly elections. But, funds worth crores have been wasted as authorities failed to keep a check on quality.”
“A similar situation can also be witnessed on Pakhowal Road which was constructed in December last year and the poor quality hot mix material started wearing off a few days after it was constructed. The development works were carried out to woo voters, but viewing the quality of roads, we will not vote for anyone and go for NOTA this time,” said Sharma.
Earlier, residents had complained about poor quality roads in areas like Kitchlu Nagar, Dugri, and Old GT Road. The vigilance department had also sought a report from the local bodies department after receiving complaints against the alleged inferior quality road construction works. The local bodies department had also directed the civic body to stop payment to the contractors and take action against them.
Another resident, Gurdeep Singh, said that no action is taken against the contractors as officials, politicians and the contractors are hand-in-gloves with each other. “The same practice is adopted every time before the assembly elections and roads start wearing off after the elections. But, this time the material started peeling off even before the elections, which is a sad state of affairs. Public money is wasted at large with no accountability. Action should be taken against the guilty,” he said.
Meanwhile, LIT superintending engineer (SE) Buta Ram said that the Model Town-Jawaddi Road was repaired temporarily as it has been raining in the city. Soon after the weather gets clear, the road will be repaired completely. Meanwhile the authorities have stopped payment to the contractor. The work at Pakhowal road has also been stopped due to bad weather conditions.
Despite attempts to reach MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, he was not available for comments.
