Tribune impact: After long wait, MC hits ground running with road repair work

A day after the Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the poor condition of roads in the city, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has begun repair work from Sector 15.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla also directed the civic body Chief Engineer to prepare an estimate for recarpeting the roads that have been found to be in poor shape after holding a review meeting.

Notably, a recent civic body survey had found at least 60 roads in the city to be in a “very poor” condition. Besides, the condition of 23 other roads was categorised as “poor”.

The Mayor said recarpeting work for these roads will start once the civic body receives the anticipated additional grant of Rs 238 crore from the administration. She said the amount is likely to flow soon and road repairs will be start immediately after.

In the meantime, Babla has sought a detailed report on the civic body survey.

The MC is for now focusing its attention on some of the roads in poor condition. Councilor Saurabh Joshi said the repair work started from road behind the bay shops in Sector 15 today. He conducted an inspection, accompanied by officials from the civic body. A few members of the Sector 15 Market Association were also present at the spot.

It is pertinent to mention that the cash-strapped civic body has been calling for financial assistance to help them maintain city roads. Earlier, the Mayor had demanded additional funds for the maintenance of V3 roads (sector-dividing roads) from the administration.

In a letter to Chandigarh Administrator, she had highlighted that the MC was responsible for maintaining approximately 1,860 km (approximately 60 per cent) of city roads. She had also sought a share from revenue generated from the Registration and Licensing Authority for maintenance of roads.