Monsoon is here but internal roads still in bad shape in Amritsar

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 24

Though the Municipal Corporation (MC) has sanctioned Rs20 crore for recarpeting major roads, several internal roads, it seems, may not get the required attention of the civic body. The roads have been crying for repairs.

Residents of various neglected areas have been complaining about the poor condition of roads for long. As the monsoon is nearing, residents are worried that the Municipal Corporation might not be able to complete the recarpeting work announced by it.

The road from Gate Hakima to Central Jail Fathapur is badly damaged. When it rains, potholes get filled with water. Devotees visiting Gurdwara Baba Budha Sahib Jhabal have to face a lot of inconvenience. Similarly, Jhabal Road is also in a bad state. A road from Ajnala Road to Gumtala via Tabowali and Malawali villages also needs repair. It was last recarpeted 22 year ago, in 1998. After waiting for years, residents of Malawali village last year recarpeted the road from the village to Gumtala out of their own pockets.

Residents of Kot Khalsa have also been awaiting recarpeting of the road from Main Chowk Kot Khalsa to Gurdwara Bohri Sahib. Mangal Singh, a resident of Kot Khalsa, said, “The road got damaged some years ago. Earlier, there were large potholes on the road. These would get filled with water after rain, making them invisible to commuters and thus, resulting in accidents. Now the authorities have put stones on the road but there is no deadline for its recarpeting.”

Sukhjit Singh, another Kot Khalsa resident, said: “Representatives of our area have met several politicians and officials of the MC and demanded recarpeting of the road, but to no avail.”

Manmohan Singh, a resident of Nanakpura, said: “The Municipal Corporation does patchwork of roads before the monsoon. After the rain, it gets damaged again. One of my relatives met with an accident due to potholes on a road in the Wadali area.”

Jagdish Singh, a resident, said: “The Municipal Corporation announced recarpeting of roads before the monsoon. But the work did not get started. A large number of roads have not been recarpeted for the past few years. The work should have started in February so that it is complete before the onset of the monsoon.

Ward No. 78 councillor Sukhbir Singh said: “A repair estimate of the Bohri Sahib road has been prepared and the work would start soon.”

Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said: “We have started recarpeting of several roads in the past two weeks. The Covid-19 outbreak had delayed the tendering process. Several roads have also been completed in the past few days. After spending an amount of Rs20 crore on recarpeting main roads, we will focus on link roads and other roads in localities in the city. We have set a target to recarpet all city roads this year. There is no scarcity of funds for infrastructural development.”