Damaged city roads cry for attention

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 24

The tall claims of the state government of providing proper roads seem to have fallen flat as deep potholes on the main road near the lakes in the city have become a cause of frequent road accidents.

The road along the entire stretch is filled with potholes. The authorities concerned have failed to do patchwork on the road. This is the main GT Road, which connects the city with other major cities of the state.

City residents lament that the roads have turned hazardous due to potholes and the accidents have increased manifold.

The potholes are not only damaging four-wheelers but have also become the primary reason for accidents.

A motorcyclist fell on the road as his motorcycle hit a pothole on the road near the lake on Saturday night. He was taken to a private hospital.

The situation worsens during the night when cyclists and motorcyclists, unaware of these potholes, fall into them and loose their balance.

Sources said many roads in the state are in a bad condition and cry for immediate repair, but the financial crisis the state has been facing has adversely affected the development projects.

The situation is worse in rural areas where, despite repeated requests of MLAs and ministers, funds have not been released.

Sanjiv Kumar said allegations over lack of maintenance of internal roads were levelled by both the parties in the previous elections. In the past five years, a number of internal roads had been re-carpeted but the quality of work was so bad that a majority of the roads were damaged during the rains.

Another resident Rajan Goel said the politicians had repeatedly claimed to turn the city into California but the reality was that people don’t even get the basic amenities.

He also said politicians and administration are hardly concerned about the needs of the people.

A BMC official said the work on the repairs of roads was in progress. The work was delayed due to the imposition of the the election code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections but now, all the roads would be covered one by one, he added.