E-Paper
Ludhiana residents a harried lot as roads in posh localities dug up again
In Ludhiana, the areas which have been selected in the pilot project include Sarabha Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, Maya Nagar and Gurdev Nagar
Residents of several posh localities are undergoing massive inconvenience, as the roads have been dug up once again under the pilot project of the 24×7 surface water supply to lay the pipes which is leading to traffic disturbance in the area.
With recent rains, the earth has sunk inches deep causing the motors to get stuck on the roads, residents are worried that the situation will worsen as the monsoon is set to arrive.
The areas which have been selected in the pilot project include Sarabha Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, Maya Nagar and Gurdev Nagar - water supply pipes are being laid for as many as 5,000 residences in these areas. After the pilot project will be implemented the same will be replicated in the entire city with the funds provided by the World Bank.
The digging work to lay the water supply pipes, in the whole area, was started in September 2022, after which the portion of the roads were recarpeted. Now, the authorities have again started digging the stretches to relay another pipe, which is drawing the ire of the residents.
“For the last several months residents are facing issues like congestion, dust pollution, and traffic jams as the work is going at a snail’s pace, recently after waiting for months the roads in some areas had been recarpeted, and now authorities have again dug up the road ahead of monsoon,” said Inderpreet Singh, a resident of Sarabha Nagar.
He added that with every rain, the dug-up portion of the road sinks into the earth after which cars get stuck in it. He said with only a little portion of the roads left for motorists, traffic jams and road rage has become normal.
The pilot project is being taken up at a cost of ₹71.16 crores by a private company. The civic body has set March 2023 as the deadline for the completion of the project but it is yet to be completed.
Another resident, Shweta Sharma, said it proves that authorities are ill-prepared and unconcerned about the residents. “Authorities should have laid the pipes in one go, the residents are already undergoing routine harassment due to prolonged construction work on major roads surrounding these areas including, Pakhowal Road and Ferozepur, with this, the inner areas have also started facing the same problem,” she added.
Superintending engineer (Building and roads) Sanjay Kanwar said a letter has been issued to the operations and maintenance branch of the MC which is overseeing the project to resolve the problem.
Ravinder Garg, superintending engineer, said the contractor has been directed to immediately complete the work and recarpet the roads to save residents from inconvenience.
