After rain, the condition of roads becomes pitiable. It indicates that there is a poor quality check at the time of laying of roads. The maintenance standards are also very poor. The authorities shoul

After rain, the condition of roads becomes pitiable. It indicates that there is a poor quality check at the time of laying of roads. The maintenance standards are also very poor. The authorities should together make plans to lay and maintain roads. If roads are good, there will be less accidents and less traffic jams, thus saving fuel and time of citizens. It will also help reduce air pollution.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

We deserve smooth roads

Even after looting residents through undesired multiple taxes, why the MC often maintains a rut of starvation of funds? Misappropriation of funds by councillors on their pleasure trips is popular. Already having paid exorbitant road tax and then made to shell out undesired parking fee, citizens deserve smooth clear roads, lighting and allied infrastructure. Avenues having been exploited enough, MC authorities should provide good road infrastructure and civic amenities in ample existing revenue.

MPS Chadha

Mayors, councillors should do their bit

Chandigarh is known as the City Beautiful and the UT Administration should try to restore its beauty. If such bad conditions prevail then how can Smart City mission be achieved? The MCs of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali collect funds from residents as taxes and they also get funds from the Administration. Who is responsible for deficiency of funds? The councillors go on personal tours with their families at the cost of public exchequer. The Mohali MC is spending Rs 126 crore on cleanliness, but waste can be seen in every corner of the city. Mayors of the tricity and the councillors should do their bit for the welfare of residents.

MR Bhateja

officials-politicians nexus main reason

The officials-politicians nexus, which is the reason for poor condition of roads in the tricity, needs to be broken. There is no mechanism to check the quality of material used for re-carpeting of roads. Furthermore, laying of paver blocks on green cover mindlessly, which causes accumulation of water on roads during rain, decreases the life of roads. The administration should ensure that roads are repaired on a priority basis and leave no scope for compromise on quality work. Residents should also bring it to the notice of authorities, if substandard material is used for re-carpeting in their area.

Col Balbir Singh Mathauda (retd)

pathetic roads make driving a nightmare

There is no denying the fact that roads are the lifeline of connectivity. There was a time when driving on city roads was a pleasure, but now bumpy and potholed roads make driving a nightmare in the city. The tricity roads, especially those of the City Beautiful, are a picture of neglect. If figures of road mishaps due to ill-maintained roads are to be believed, those at the helms of affairs need to hang their heads in shame over the alarming rise in graph of victims. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation needs to come out of its cozy confines to take an urgent call on improving the condition of roads as the cosmetic measures to maintain the city roads have been a damp squib by far. The cash-starved MC needs to mull over checking in on the whopping amount being splurged on the foreign tours of its elected members or other sundry projects. It needs to allocate special budgetary provisions for the maintenance of city roads.

Ramesh K Dhiman

Half-hearted work

At many places in the tricity, contractors have not re-laid the full width of roads, leading to uneven surface and accidents. It seems that the work was carried out in haste. The half-hearted work is causing resentment among motorists.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra

Rigid pavement must be planned

Though the international designing standards are adopted while constructing roads, the rate of premature failure of crust, development of potholes and ruts is very high. Reasons: Corruption, inadequate supervision of quality of work and overloading of vehicles beyond allowed capacity. There should be mobile maintenance teams with specified operational areas to ensure speedy restoration action on the principle of ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ so that aggravation of distress is combated. Rigid pavement has higher construction cost, but needs less maintenance efforts. Besides, it has longer life, therefore this aspect may be given a thought and depending upon availability of funds each year construction of rigid pavement must be planned so that over a period of time, the city gets smooth motorable roads.

SS Arora, Mohali

Potholed roads in need of repairs

A significant number of accidents has attributed to bad roads. It has been reported that more than one person dies daily in the tricity. In Mohali, the average number of deaths is about 25 per month. It seems that the MC has not made enough efforts. Potholes become blind during night and increase the risk of accidents. Therefore, there is an urgent need for repair of potholes.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Let companies fund road repair

Tricity roads need constant monitoring to avoid deterioration. This is important in rainy season. Due to the socio-economic conditions of the residents and being metropolis, the tricity will continue to face this problem. For this, constant monitoring of roads has to be undertaken. Re-carpeting should be done on need basis. A common grievance number can be provided by the authorities. Active participation from residents can also help curtail the problem. The city MC is as usual cash-starved. Funds from corporates under CSR can be tapped. Let the companies fund the road repair and in return give them display rights along the specified road(s).

Rajeev Kumar

councillors must harp on road repair

The condition of roads is pathetic not only in the tricity, but all over the country. Road tax and toll are being charged and increased regularly, but repair and re-carpeting has not been done regularly. Roads from where VIPs have to pass get re-carpeted over night. Citizens have been paying taxes for infrastructure, communication, health facilities and education, but people at the helm of governance affairs have failed to do the justice. Area councillors must visit their area and harp on road repairs.

Wg Cdr Jasbir Singh Minhas (retd)

MC should give top priority to roads

As Chandigarh is known as the City Beautiful, the roads should be well-constructed and pothole-free. The Municipal Corporation should give top priority to roads as the city residents face numerous problems such as reduction in the mileage of vehicles and increasing road mishaps. Most of the people in Chandigarh are working and numerous vehicles are moving on tricity roads on a daily basis. So, city people deserve a better deal from authorities. Besides, a large number of students from various parts of the country are studying in top most colleges of Chandigarh. Therefore, the worsening condition of roads puts a negative impression on their mind.

Nakhpreet Kaur

Major grant should be spent on re-carpeting

Kudos to the Administrator for getting a grant of Rs 150 crore for the re-carpeting of roads in the City Beautiful. The MC should split the money into two parts in the ratio of 80:20. The major part should be spent on re-carpeting roads, while the rest should be used for repairing of potholes.

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh

Compromise on design, real culprit

A decade ago, Chandigarh roads boasted of world-class roads. Roads do wear out with flow of vehicular traffic over years, but how to cope with re-laid and repaired roads that don’t last beyond a few weeks in good condition. Once the thin top layer erodes, loose gravel is exposed. That results in deep pits and potholes. Compromises with design and material are the real culprit. There is no dearth of prescribed standards on road building practices. But who cares? Contractors must be bound to guarantee road maintenance for two years. Lack of answerability on the part of technocrats and bureaucrats, who lie prostrate before their political masters, must be contained. Surely, the tricity residents deserve a better deal vis-a-vis safe and smooth driving experience for which they pay hefty levies.

Lalit Bharadwaj

Road methodology goes for a toss

The Centre’s main focus is on highway roads, which is a step in the right direction, but more roads need to be travelled by the government to achieve some substantial results, especially at municipal and town levels. The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in Delhi has textbooks for technocrats, who build roads and highways, but once engineers trained by the CRRI become part of the juggernaut of the race, which includes contractors, suppliers and politicians, the road engineering methodology goes for a toss. When accidents increase, loss of lives happen and seniors point out design flaws, a kneejerk reaction is undertaken and patchwork and band-aid fixing is done. Multiple agencies need to involve experts from the CRRI, the NHAI, as also the NGOs like ArriveSafe and Haryana Vision Zero to make a master plan and a time-bound roadmap for making highways safe and secure. A multi-pronged strategy can only help improve roads and lighting, enforce motor vehicle laws and control arbitrary collections of the traffic police.

Rajiv Boolchand Jain

MC policies need to be overhauled

We all know that Chandigarh is called the City Beautiful, but the roads full of potholes mar the beauty of the city. It not only makes the city ugly, but puts the life of commuters at risk. The residents of the tricity really deserve a better deal. Maintenance of the city roads is one of the basic duties of the Municipal Corporation. The MC policies need to be overhauled so that the funds are diverted for the urgent repairs. The unplanned expenditure by the MC is the cause for fund-starving corporation. The root cause should be uprooted so that proper funds are allocated for each and every work. There should be a check on any type of extravagancy on the part of the MC. The sole aim of public welfare should be followed by the MC in letter and spirit.

Bir Devinder Singh Bed

Repair neglected roads first

The UT Engineering Wing is spending more funds on the main roads, which fall under its jurisdiction, leaving inadequate funds for the Municipal Corporation to carry out periodical road repairs in carpeting on the sector dividing roads and internal roads of the villages which also fall under its jurisdiction. With the increasing intensity of vehicular traffic on these neglected roads , they develop potholes and create traffic hazards. Now, with recent release of more funds by the UT Administrator to the MC, the first priority of the Municipal Corporation should be to carry out repairs of these badly neglected roads.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

MC spending money on useless projects

Chandigarh and adjoining areas are most developed in Punjab and Haryana. The condition of roads in the tricity is going bad to worse, but the MC does not bother and spending money on useless projects. The government should focus on improving the condition of roads so that residents feel safe while driving on road.

Avinash Goyal

UT Administrator must intervene

The Administration has imposed heavy fines for traffic violations, but failed to improve the condition of roads, thus causing fatal road accidents. Is it not their responsibility to make roads safe in every respect? Is issuing challan logical and ethical when the Administration has failed to ensure safety of people on roads? If the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is cash-starved, then how can they send councillors on trips every year? Why the MC is not giving priority to repair and keep the roads pothole-free? The MC and the Administration must pull up its socks and tighten its belt to make roads safe for people. The UT Administrator must also intervene to address the problem.

Capt Amar Jeet Kumar

Unnecessary spending by MC

City roads are in a bad shape. The cause for the sorry state of affairs and fiscal crisis is the unnecessary spending by MC officials and public representatives. Many a times, newspapers have highlighted corrupt practices and illegitimate splurging of taxpayers’ money on one pretext or the other. Recently, the Mayor was accused of misappropriation of funds, unauthorised use of designation and ugly clashes with officers. A few weeks ago, many councillors went on a trip with their families in the garb of official work at the cost of tax payers’ money. After a while it was reported that the bills and claims were rejected. The final decision is still not known to the general public.

Karan Singh Vinayak

Ensure cleaning of manholes

On the one hand, the MC is going through financial crunch, while on the other, it is spending lavishly on foreign trips of councillors and tea parties in events. Roads of Chandigarh need re-carpeting as these are in a bad shape. Potholes, non-functional streetlights and faded zebra crossing signs need to be taken care of. Darkness at night leads to a number of accidents. Reflectors should be installed at roads. During the rainy season, roads are in a pathetic condition as water gets accumulated, causing trouble to commuters. Manholes also need to be cleaned from time to time to avoid waterlogging. As a number of people commute to the peripheral towns daily, internal as well as outer roads need to be repaired immediately.

Abhilasha Gupta

Rationalise manpower

The tax collection is about Rs 535 crore of which an amount close to Rs 495 crore is spent on salaries and pensions, thereby, leaving very little amount for maintaining and upgrading infrastructure. The Chandigarh MC should rationalise manpower and remove surplus and under performers. The salaries should be linked to performance and working days should be increased to 270 days per year. Good governance is not seen in any government institution. Increased taxes/cess will put further pressure on the common man.

KC Rana, Chandigarh

Substandard material

The Supreme Court had taken a wonderful decision that the authorities concerned will compensate to the families of deceased who lose their lives due to bad conditions of roads in the country. It’s true that why one should lose his or her life because of poor workmanship adopted while constructing roads leading to development of big potholes, thus causing serious accidents. This will be very effective as the contractors will also have to loosen up their pockets because of their wrongdoings. There is nothing more precious than the human life and anyone playing with the human lives must be taken to task. Pathetic condition of roads is responsible for the increasing fatalities on road. Road conditions are not improving with the increasing vehicles. The roads are not designed with proper method and the material used in the construction is of substandard quality. In developed countries, the contractor gives 10-year warranty of roads, but in India, roads start washing away in the first rainy season.

Sanjay Chopra