Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 26
Potholes in roads have become a very common sight in the city and the Public Works Department (PWD) is doing nothing about it.
These potholes have mostly developed in roads where sewerage pipes were laid by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).
One such road is in the Chand Nagar area opposite City Square Mall where the NBCC has laid sewerage pipes. The construction corporation had paved the road, but soon potholes developed around the manholes. Yesterday, the road developed another big pothole, which is posing threat to pedestrians and vehicles.
Any light motor vehicle or two-wheeler could sink in it leading to an accident.
The PWD is not taking the responsibility of the repair of these roads. “It is the job of the NBCC to look after the repair and any other work on roads where sewerage pipes have been laid. Earlier, the NBCC used to give us money for repair work, but now they have decided to take up any sort of repair work on their own,” said Rajesh Bhagat, Executive Engineer, PWD.
The NBCC officials are of the opinion that they can’t use road rollers to fill the potholes as the joints of sewers could break. “Using road rollers could harm our pipes. We have to look for alternate option to keep the road safe for vehicular movement,” said Muhammad Rafiq, General Manager, NBCC.
The General Manager said he would send his engineer to the spot soon so that the repair work was done.