It’s a bumpy ride on Panchkula roads

Repairs delayed for over a year, potholes put commuters’ lives at risk in city eyeing ‘smart’ tag

With proper repair works delayed for up to a year, dilapidated roads dotted with huge potholes have become the ground reality of Panchkula, a city otherwise dubbed as Haryana’s Paris.

Main roads of Panchkula — such as this one near the office of deputy commissioner of police in Sector 1 — are in a bad shape. (Sant Arora/HT)

The main and internal roads leading to government offices are crying for attention. Sample this: A road separating Sectors 1 and 2, leading to the district courts and right in front of the BJP office, is full of potholes. The same, or even worse, is the condition of the stretches near various roundabouts, trans-Ghaggar sectors from 23 to 28, and even the Industrial Area.

Much to the chagrin of the commuters and residents, even the entry roads to Sectors 17, 16, 20, 21, 4, 5, besides the entire stretch towards the mini secretariat in Sector 1 that houses several offices of top officials including the deputy commissioner and deputy commissioner of police (DCP) having heavy daily footfall, and towards Majri Chowk have potholes galore. The condition of roads in city markets is no different either, courtesy lack of proper repair or recarpeting.

Ashish Gupta, a resident of Sector 4, said, “Almost all roads in Panchkula are in a shambles, and potholes make driving nearly impossible, putting lives at risk. Authorities are least concerned about the roads, whether it is the municipal corporation (MC) or the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).”

“Contractors use lesser quantity of bitumen and stone dust, leading to early collapse of roads. Overall, the material used is also of substandard quality. MC officials often overlook these lapses for their personal gains,leaving public at the receiving end,” said SK Nayar, president, Citizens’ Welfare Association, Panchkula.

WORK TO BE DONE IN PHASED MANNER: MC

For the MC which is aiming for a Smart City tag for Panchkula, the issue seemed to have been on the back-burner. There are several stretches which could have been re-carpeted last year, but to no avail. Residents said achieving the tag will be a distant dream if the roads are not recarpeted.

MC commissioner Sumedha Kataria, who recently joined the office, said, “So far it was learnt that only 10% of the civic development work was done in the past one-and-a-half years.”

Denying any shortage of funds for road works, Kataria said, “Road repairs are on the priority list. There are several arrears including stamp duty and some share from other departments which are pending. We have started the process to recover it to add more revenue.”

Kataria said she had already held a meeting with the officials concerned of the engineering and technical departments and asked them to prepare a list of the stretches which should be prioritised for recarpeting. “We have already ordered bitumen for recarpeting major roads. We have planned to start with the entry points of the city. Everything will be done in a phased manner to cover the internal and parking roads as well,” said Kataria, adding that they are hopeful of starting the work after February 10 as the temperature will become favourable for laying of roads.

MEETING

The MC will also prepare a timeline of the roads being recarpeted, repaired or laid anew in the past to review the conditions. Kataria said, “A meeting in this regard will be held on Monday. I have asked the officials concerned to prepare a report with a timeline of road works carried out in the past. I will also check the previous road work records including the quality parameters. If any lapse is found, I will definitely take strict action.”