Video of road work in Karnal amid heavy rain goes viral, draws criticism

Karnal, July 1

The construction of a road amid heavy rainfall in the city — the video of which went viral on social media — has drawn flak from various sections of society, including opposition leaders.

Former mla calls for inquiry

One can imagine the quality of a road which is constructed amid heavy rainfall. An inquiry should be conducted — Sumita Singh, Former MLA, Karnal

The criticism forced the Public Works Department (Building & Roads) to direct the contractor to reconstruct the road. “The contractor has been directed to remove the laid material and re-lay a fresh road at its own cost,” said Sandeep Singh, XEN, PWD (B&R)-Division I.

The Junior Engineer and Sub Divisional Officer have been asked to check the quality of the road material, he added. The 900-m stretch between Namastey Chowk and Meera Ghati Chowk in Karnal is being constructed at a cost of about Rs 1.5 crore. Notably, the labourers of the contractor were laying the material on the road while it was raining heavily in the city.

However, an official claimed that as the labourers had already laid the material, it could not be lifted at that time, so they levelled it instead.

On the other hand, opposition leaders alleged that an inquiry should be initiated on this issue. “One can imagine the quality of a road which is constructed amid heavy rainfall. An inquiry should be conducted,” said Sumita Singh, former MLA and senior Congress leader.

She demanded proper monitoring of the ongoing development works. “The MLA of the Karnal Assembly segment has become Chief Minister and he is sitting in Chandigarh. He does not know about the developments in Karnal city,” alleged the former MLA.