The apathy of the municipal corporation (MC) in repairing the roads and internal streets of residential areas has left commuters a harried lot amid the monsoon.
Potholed, damaged roads in almost every part of the city increase the chances of accidents especially, during waterlogging, but the authorities have turned a blind eye towards the problem.
Even as the MC has been making tall claims regarding taking up development projects in the city, deep potholes can be seen on main roads of the city including, Model Town-Jawaadi Road, Brown Road, Gill Road, Pakhowal Road, Lodhi Club Road, etc.
A similar situation can also be seen in the residential areas of Model Town, Field Ganj, Nehru Nagar, Kundan Nagar, Dugri, Haibowal, among others.
The roads that were dug up for ongoing development works at Ferozepur Road, Malhar Road, Pakhowal Road, Old GT Road, etc., have further added to the woes of the commuters.
Gurkirat Singh, a resident of Model Town, said, “MC should take up the process of reparation of the roads regularly. Last year in November, a girl had suffered a serious head injury after she lost balance of her two-wheeler on Model Town-Jawaddi Road.”
“The issue of potholed roads is raised every year, but the authorities still do not repair them ahead of monsoon season and put the lives of residents in danger,” added Singh.
{{/usCountry}}“The issue of potholed roads is raised every year, but the authorities still do not repair them ahead of monsoon season and put the lives of residents in danger,” added Singh.
{{/usCountry}}Pawandeep Singh, a resident of the Field Ganj area, said that apart from repairing the potholes, the MC should also find a solution for the uneven covers.
“The roads should have been repaired ahead of the monsoon. Now, the authorities claim that repair work cannot be done during the rainy season. The MC should at least clear the gravel spread on the damaged portion of the road as there is always a danger of vehicles skidding,” he added.
Councillors had in the MC general house meeting on July 14 raised the matter regarding the pathetic condition of roads.
They rued that commuters are facing trouble as the contractors had failed to construct the roads after digging them up to install sewer lines.
Sunita Rani, leader of BJP councillors, said, “The main Shivpuri has been dug for around three months to install sewer lines. The authorities have failed to reconstruct the road even as hundreds of vehicles ply on it daily and accidents are also taking place there.”
Mayor Balkar Sandhu said that the potholes are temporarily being filled them with rubble and sand as the bitumen work cannot be done during the rainy season.
“The repair work with bitumen material will start soon after the monsoon season. The MC has also approved different projects to reconstruct the main roads of the city. If the residents are facing any problems due to the potholes, then they can submit a complaint with my office,” he added.
Despite repeated attempts, made to reach MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, he was not available for comments.