Chandigarh: Ride to school turns risky at Dadumajra

For children headed to a private school in Dadumajra, the commute on the pothole-riddled road has turned into a nightmare. Back-to-back heavy showers over the past week have left the stretch in bad shape, raising parents’ concerns.

The Municipal Corporation (MC) had approved over Rs 1.5 crore for road repairs ahead of monsoon but the slow pace of work has failed to improve the situation in the area.

According to the local residents, fresh potholes have emerged on the road leading to the school. They added that work had not even begun to repair roads that caved in weeks ago.

Congress leader Narender Chaudhary, a resident of the area, said no re-carpeting has been carried out by the Municipal Corporation (MC) in the past seven years.

“With no maintenance, the road is now completely damaged. One cannot call it a road anymore as it has potholes that are over two-foot wide at just about every stretch,” he added.

Schoolchildren use the road on a daily basis but an increased risk of accidents now worries their parents, who cited multiple two-wheeler mishaps in the area in the past week alone.

The condition of roads in Manimajra has also been deteriorating with each spell of rain. In fact, damaged roads is the reality in most villages and colonies on the city periphery.

The delay in repairs, attributed to the civic body’s recent financial crunch, has left the residents to face the brunt.

Those residing in Sectors 47 and 48 have flagged the MC’s inability to fill the deep pits near the light point and the Sector 46 roundabout even days after cave-ins.

The work to repair damaged stormwater pipelines on the Sector 14-15 roundabout and near the Sector 37-38 roundabout also continues to drag.

Councillor Saurabh Joshi recently raised the issue in the MC General House meeting, but the repairs continue to progress at a snail’s pace.