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Municipal commissioner blames Jal Nigam for road cave-ins; DM orders probe
A number of public representatives raised the question of road cave-ins in the city and blamed ‘poor quality’ of work. Almost everyone agreed that roads are starting to cave-in even after a moderate rain spell.
LUCKNOW The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has blamed Jal Nigam for erratic and unscientific digging, which the civic body opines is the reason behind road cave-ins in the city.
During a meeting of the district development coordination and the monitoring committee on Saturday, municipal commissioner Inderjeet Singh openly blamed Jal Nigam for not informing LMC before digging roads. The meeting witnessed an uproar over the issue of road subsidence in various parts of city.
A number of public representatives raised the question of road cave-ins in the city and blamed ‘poor quality’ of work. Almost everyone agreed that roads are starting to cave-in even after a moderate rain spell. A case of cars getting stuck inside the cave-in was also cited during the meeting.
According to LMC officials, the Jal Nigam started digging roads without considering their piling strength. Had Jal Nigam coordinated with departments like LMC, Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), or the housing board before road cutting for laying sewer, incidents of road caving in could have been averted, say LMC officials.
Speaking at the meeting, Inderjeet Singh highlighted the lack of coordination between Jal Nigam and civic agencies. He said that the Jal Nigam does not give LMC any information before digging roads. However, the officials of Jal Nigam didn’t respond to the allegations. Thereafter, the district magistrate of Lucknow, Surya Pal Gangwar, directed concerned officials to conduct a third-party inquiry into the sewer line work. He also ordered an inquiry into road cave-ins.
During the meeting, which was chaired by MP and Union minister of state Kaushal Kishore, the issue of the quality of development works was also debated prominently.
Praveen Awasthi, representative of MP Mohanlalganj, said, “The road constructed after laying the sewer line got washed away after a brief rain spell in Ashiyana. A bike rider passing through the stretch fell into the sunken road near Smriti Upvan.” Alleging rampant corruption in the construction of road after the sewer lines were laid, the representative asked for an inquiry. The DM acceded to his demand.
Meanwhile, according to Jal Nigam officials, the department floated tenders for laying sewer lines. The executing firm sublet the work to local contractors. Neither NOC was taken for digging the road nor any money was deposited for road cutting, Jal Nigam officials added.
