Cabbie takes noble route, fills potholes to curb accidents

Nitin Mittal
Tribune News Service
Dera Bassi, December 9

Here is a man with a noble thought. Heeding his late father’s saying that “fill potholes for others to have a smooth road for yourself”, 59-year-old Avtar Singh has been filling potholes in Dera Bassi and the adjoining areas without taking help from anyone.

Along with ferrying passengers, Avtar Singh, a taxi driver, has also been carrying pieces of bricks and gravel in the boot of his taxi. This material is always available with him, which he collects from waste lying near construction sites.

Avtar first repairs the most dangerous potholes. He cleans the pothole and then puts pieces of bricks. He then levels it with the help of a hammer and covers it with sand. He has filled potholes on the Gulabgarh, Mukandpur and Tehsil roads and on the Zirakpur highway too.

The widely used link roads in Dera Bassi and Zirakpur leading to various villages have many big potholes. They develop mostly after the rains and pose a risk of accidents.