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Ludhiana | Roads wear away within year of construction, residents irked
Criticising the Ludhiana authorities for failing to keep a check on the quality of roads, residents said public resources were being wasted on poor quality road construction and lives of locals were being put at risk on potholed roads.
At a time when the municipal corporation (MC) has approved projects worth crores ahead of civic body elections, the wearing away of roads constructed before the Assembly elections (before February) has left residents in a lurch.
Within a year of construction, roads in Shastri Nagar, Model Town Extension, Tibba road etc have started peeling off.
While streets in Shastri Nagar Block B have developed potholes, the material has started peeling off on cemented Tibba road. The project to reconstruct cremation ground road in Model Town Extension has been left midway by the contractor, but the material on the reconstructed portion of the road has also started peeling off with gravel spread on the road portion.
Criticising the authorities for failing to keep a check on the quality of roads, residents said public resources were being wasted and lives of locals were being put at risk on potholed roads.
A resident of Shastri Nagar, Harjot Singh, said it was now clear to everyone that roads would be reconstructed only ahead of elections. “At least the authorities should keep a check of the quality of works. After the material peels off, gravel is spread on roads which increases the chance of an accident,” he said.
“The potholes are not even visible after the road is waterlogged and the lives remain at risk every time while moving on city roads. Penalties should be imposed on contractors as well as concerned officials. Politicians should also step forward to stop wastage of public resources rather than helping contractors evade action. Pathetic conditions of roads remains a major issue during every election, but nothing concrete is done to resolve the problem” said Singh.
One of the MC officials, requesting anonymity, said the life of the roads should be at least 5 years. “A large number of projects are initiated ahead of the elections and at that time the focus shifts from keeping a check on the quality to completing the work ahead of the elections due to political interference. With no check on quality, the material peels off months after reconstruction. It is not the first time that this has happened and contractors avoid action due to political interference,” the official said.
Earlier, residents of Udham Singh Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar main road, Pakhowal road had also complained against poor quality of road construction works and the authorities had got the roads repaired months after these were reconstructed. Pakhowal road was constructed by Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT).
Meanwhile, MC commissioner Shena Aggarwal said the MC had been keeping a check on the quality of development works. “A third party has also been appointed by the state government which collects samples to keep a check on the quality. Action has also been taken against contractors in the past. Even now the security deposits of contractors are with the MC,” she said, adding that she would direct the staff to inspect the sites and penalties would be imposed on contractors if anomalies were found.
