Bumpy ride greets visitors at PAU

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 24

The students, researchers and visitors are helplessly experiencing a bumpy ride due the potholed roads at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here.

A majority of roads on the campus are in a bad shape. The students, who reside in hostels, are worst sufferers as travelling on the bumpy roads poses risk of accidents.

A road leading to Hostel No. 2, 4 and 7 is completely worn out. While the road leading to the Central Institute of Post Harvesting Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) is also in a pathetic condition.

Earlier, all the major roads on the campus were recarpeted just before the Prime Minister’s visit in 2012, the golden jubilee year of the agricultural varsity.

A few months ago, Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon had claimed that they had written to the Mandi Board and roads would be recarpeted soon, but to no avail.

As Mandi Board officials were not showing interest to construct the road, recently the PAU authorities took some makeshift measures and filled the potholes with mud but it couldn’t prove to be an alternative solution. The mud further led to dust pollution.

The roads leading from old orchard to canal side is in a poor condition. The research scholars, who have to commute on these roads near the research field area, complained that they had to face a lot of inconvenience due to uncarpeted roads.

Rain adds to the woes of students and researchers as the potholes get filled with water.

Dr Jaspal Singh, Chief Engineer, PAU, said, “We have taken up the matter with the Mandi Board officials. We hope that we they will recarpet the roads soon.”

“The road in front of the Punjab Agricultural Management Extension Training Institute had a large pothole. During the rainy season, crossing a pothole becomes a difficult task. The skidding of bikes is a routine occurrence on these roads,” a hosteller said.

“The PAU authorities collect an amount of Rs 2,000 yearly from us. The roads are in such a bad shape that one can’t even walk or run properly, especially in the field area. The authorities should recarpet the roads at the earliest,” a resident said.