Only 65% of pre-monsoon work completed by PMC
Municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said PMC has completed 65% of pre-monsoon work and will meet the deadline
Despite having started its pre-monsoon drive earlier than last year (April 1, 2023), the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has completed only 65% of the pre-monsoon work till date. Still, the civic body is confident of completing the remaining 35% work before the onset of the monsoon.
Municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said, “We have completed 65% of the pre-monsoon work so far. But the remaining work will be completed as per the deadline. We will complete the road-related work till June 10, 2023. The quality of roads will be checked by the city engineering department. We are using the SCADA system to check the quality of tar.”
The PMC has also provided helpline numbers for citizens to share photographs and locations of poorly maintained nullahs and stormwater drains in their areas. The numbers will be used exclusively for disaster management and pre-monsoon works.
Kumar said, “Chief minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting on disaster management-related issues. We were told that if the city registers 50 mm rainfall in one hour, there will be waterlogging in city areas. We have experienced waterlogging problems at Jangli Maharaj Road and Fergusson College Road. To avoid this, we have taken some precautionary measures such as digging trenches and wells at the foothills etc. We are also laying stormwater drain lines in various parts of the city.”
According to data shared by the PMC, there are 433 nullahs which are about 625 km long, 260 stormwater drain lines, and 58,859 chambers in the city and around 65% of the pre-monsoon work has been completed till date. Civic officials said that last year, the PMC had imposed fines to the tune of Rs80 lakhs on 33 contractors for poor quality work under the defect liability period (DLP) and blacklisted 13 contractors after city roads developed craters during the guarantee period. The PMC had also imposed fines on 23 engineers for negligence in the supervision of roadworks. During its monsoon survey last year, the PMC had identified 2,099 patches of roads damaged by potholes. A third-party was roped in to check the roads and their pothole problems.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by the president of the BJP Pune city unit, Jagdish Mulik, held a meeting with Kumar wherein the delegation stressed the need for expediting the remaining pre-monsoon work. Mulik urged the municipal commissioner to ensure thorough inspection and completion of work before the onset of the rainy season. Mulik stressed the need for clean drains to prevent waterlogging.
