Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 17
The decision of the city Municipal Corporation to change the design of roundabouts has sparked a controversy.
While the MC has made a deep cut in two roundabouts, which is almost two-metre wide and one-metre deep, to make way for road gullies, it has not gone down well with residents, who have termed it interference with the original character of the city.
RK Garg, a social activist, said playing with the original design of the rotary in Chandigarh was never heard of earlier.
He said while it was a clear case of violation of the basic character of the city, it would also pose a threat to the safety of commuters.
Sources said the MC had started making additional road gullies in some roundabouts in the city to prevent flooding during the rains.
An MC official said the project had been started with two roundabouts on the national highway, in Sector 32 and Sector 20. He said these roundabouts were prone to flooding during the monsoon due to the absence of adequate number of road gullies.
With the construction of four more bigger road gullies, rainwater would go quickly into the storm water drainage system. The official said the main line of the storm water system was going below the centre of the roundabout; so it required pipelines in all four directions.
The roundabouts have become the identity of the city and are a part of its heritage. Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration, said the MC should not interfere with the original concept of the roundabout.
Checking flooding during rains
- Sources said the MC had started making additional road gullies in some roundabouts in the city to prevent flooding during the rains.
- The project has been started with two roundabouts on the national highway — in Sector 32 and Sector 20.
- These roundabouts are prone to flooding during the monsoon in the absence of sufficient number of road gullies.