Monsoon’s here, but Chandigarh’s Sector 40 road still torn up for sewer work
Dug-up road is posing threat of major cave-ins amid the rainy season; work will be completed in a week, says Chandigarh MC chief
Despite the monsoon already marking its arrival in the city, civic works for laying storm sewers are still underway at Vikas Marg, raising concerns about soil erosion that can lead to major cave-ins.
The work, spanning from Sector 40 to Sector 42, has led to road closures and uprooted sidewalks for the past few weeks, already causing inconvenience to commuters and residents alike.
Making matters worse, on Tuesday, the morning rain turned these areas into muddy, slippery zones, along with waterlogging in dug-up sections due to lack of proper drainage, causing traffic disruptions and road cave-ins at the slip road of Sector 55.
As per municipal corporation (MC) officials, during monsoon last year, the areas of Sector 40-C, Sector 41-A and Badheri Complex were inundated due to their low-lying location in southern sectors of Chandigarh. During rainfall, these areas became inaccessible, creating problems for commuters and affecting traffic.
To address the issue, the civic body had collected field data and proposed an additional stormwater drainage line along Vikas Marg (from Sector 40 to Sector 42). The work was subsequently allotted to an agency. However, MC failed to ensure its timely completion before monsoon.
“The low-lying areas of Sector 41 have been connected to the new stormwater drainage line and work is in progress at the roundabout of Sector 40/41/54/55. The laying of the pipeline at this roundabout is expected to be completed within the next seven days, after which Sector 40-C will be connected to this stormwater drainage line. This will ensure that these areas are not hit by waterlogging during the upcoming rains,” municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra explained.
However, as road carpeting cannot be undertaken during monsoon seasons due to unfavourable weather conditions, the muddy roundabout will continue to trouble commuters.
Work on Sector 44/45 dividing road on a standstill
Traffic movement also continues to remain disrupted on the Sector 44/45 dividing road, where the project to lay sewerage lines was started nearly a year ago.
After carrying out the sewer work at a snail’s pace, during which, one side of the road remained completely inaccessible for months, the dug up stretch has finally been filled up.
But carpeting of the road is still pending, forcing vehicles to move in a constricted space along the divider.
With advent of monsoon, the road gullies can now get blocked with mud, resulting in waterlogging and slippery roads. As per MC officials, the road will not be fully ready for another three-four months due to the rainy season.
“The work of laying sewer lines on the Sector 44/45 dividing road was approved under AMRUT2.0. The work was completed in May at a cost of 1.70 crore. Another project of laying a stormwater line, along with construction of road gullies, at a cost of ₹70 lakh was completed subsequently in June. The tender for road repair was delayed due to the model code of conduct for general elections, but has been floated now,” said MC officials.