E-Paper
As rains become scarce, U.P. roads gear up for repairs
Monsoon withdrawal prompts road repairs in the state, covering 1,847 roads with a ₹22,000 crore budget, prioritizing major routes and religious sites.
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With the monsoon withdrawing, road repairs are set to begin in the state. A work plan that includes 1,847 major roads has been drafted on the basis of proposals received from public representatives (MLAs, MPs, MLCs) who had demanded repair work for roads in their constituencies.
The public works department (PWD) has a total budget of ₹22,000 crore for road works under several heads.
The work plan includes state highways, district roads, rural roads, those leading to religious sites, bypasses and roads in block headquarters.
“We aim to get roads related to religious places repaired by September 22, when festivals will begin in the state,” said engineer-in-chief (development) and head of department Ashok K Dwivedi.
The expenditure finance committee (EFC) approved over 100 roads for repairs in its meeting this week. It is likely to sanction repair works every alternate day.
The proposal sent by public representatives was screened by a committee chaired by the respective district magistrates to set priority for repair work. Hence, the most commuted road will be given preference for repair work, said another senior PWD official, who attended the planning meeting.
The work plan has been made in such a manner that work is done in all 403 assembly constituencies and all 80 parliamentary constituencies, he added.
The work includes broadening, strengthening, beautifying and logistics for the roads. The focus will also be on inter-state and across-state connectivity for the smooth movement of heavy vehicles.
The PWD looks after 10,309 km of state highway roads, 6,729 km of major district roads, 59,277 km of other district roads and 1,78,271 km of village roads, including single-, double- and four-lane roads.
The officials said not all roads could be covered by the festivals. So, patchwork will be done to provide a hassle-free ride to commuters.
Officials said that roads will be reviewed frequently to assess the progress, and repair works will further pick up when the monsoon season is finally over.
