Interlocking tiles dug up on footpath, irk pedestrians

Tribune News Service

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Amritsar, May 5

Interlocking tiles laid by the Amritsar Improvement Trust on the footpath alongside Majitha Road were dug up by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) some moths after their installation. Again, the footpath became filthy and bumpy which irks residents.

The PSPCL dug up the footpath to lay wires from Power Colony to Government Medical College. The work has been completed on the main road and the workers have filled the trench with debris.

Shopkeepers and residents were expecting that after filling the trench, the contractor would lay tiles. But the contractor did not even level the footpath. The pedestrians are not able to walk on the footpath due to debris lying on the path.

The commuters have no other option than walking on the road, which is already congested and witnesses a heavy flow of traffic.

The PSPCL has been constructing a new 66 KV grid at Government Medical College to provide 24-hour power supply to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. An underground wire from the 132 KV grid station at Majitha Road has been laid to facilitate supply of electricity to the under construction grid.

The shopkeepers and the residents have been demanding that the footpath be to repaired.

Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Guru Nanak Avenue, said, “After a long time, the civic body laid tiles on the footpath before elections. The pedestrians got some relief. But now, the PSPCL has dug up the footpath for laying cables. There is no coordination between the government departments. The tiles can be installed after laying the cables. But now they have wasted lakhs of rupees, as the footpath is again filthy and bumpy”.

The shopkeepers have been facing inconvenience as heaps of debris keep lying outside their shops. They say they are suffering losses due to the ongoing digging work.

“Our business suffers as no one can park his or her vehicle outside our shops. The footfall of customers has decreased. The civic body should reinstall the interlocking tiles”, said a shopkeeper.