Poor condition of roads irks motorists

Karam Prakash

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Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 21

City roads continue to remain a nightmare for residents as most of the main roads, especially in residential areas, have not been re-carpeted for the past several months. The crude patchwork that is being carried out to fill potholes and broken stretches does not last even for months due to poor quality of material used and lack of proper supervision. It’s almost 10 months since Capt Amarinder Singh has assumed office as the Chief Minister of Punjab, but the development work of roads seems to be moving at snail’s pace in his hometown.

The condition of some roads in the city is so bad that motorists are finding it difficult to commute. Likewise, interior roads in residential areas were also in a bad shape and repair works need to be carried out at the earliest, the residents added. The condition of other link roads and main roads in and around the town are also not different. The most affected roads are Sular road, Badungar road, Sanaur road, Devigarh road, University bypass road, and Tripuri market road.

Kanwar Singh Banger, a resident who commutes on these roads on daily basis, said, “Commuters are a hassled lot as poor roads not only make driving difficult but also increase the wear and tear of vehicles, and also cause accidents.

Naveen, XEN, Public Welfare Department, said, “No new roads were laid for more than eight years. But now tenders for all roads in the city have been cleared. We were waiting for winters to end. The PWD will start the work from March 1 onwards.”

Gurpreet Singh Khaira, Commissioner Municipal Corporation, said, “The Municipal Corporation is only responsible for the inner city market and residential roads. We are maintaining the inner city roads properly.”

The situation is worse at the Patiala bypass road, near Ghalori gate, as roads are strewn, and the risk of four-wheelers toppling in these ditches always run high.

The civic authorities said they were preparing a list of roads to be taken up for repairs, but important roads would undergo repairs on priority. The contractors concerned would be asked to take up the road repairs as per priority, civic officials said.

“Road maintenance is the primary responsibility of the civic administration. The authorities should act against officers for ignoring their duties. The civic body should put updates on road repairs on its website and at the ward offices,” Ram Singh, an autorickshaw driver said.