Workshop Chowk in poor state

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 4

The beautification work initiated by the Municipal Corporation under the Smart City project at Workshop Chowk has left commuters at the receiving end. Earlier, the commuters were forced to cross the road which had deep potholes but now, the complete roundabout and the roads connected with it are in a pathetic state.

Bumpy rides have become a routine for motorists.

They said a few days ago, the MC despoiled the road and uprooted installed barricades and speed breakers, citing beautification as the reason. But the work had been going on in a mismanaged way and at a snail’s pace, rendering severe inconvenience to travellers.

A frequent commuter on the road, Manish Paul, said since the past one month, the road had been laying uprooted and potholes were not only affecting four-wheelers but have also became a primary reason for accidents.

“Traffic jams on the route is another big problem but if the MC would have worked systematically by diverting the route or carrying out the work in late hours, the problem could have never arisen,” he said.

Kavita, a student, said: “There are countless pits on the road as well as on other roads across the city but nothing has been done to solve the problem. The beautification work won’t bring any change unless roads are re-carpeted on a priority basis.”

Besides disrupting the smooth flow of traffic, it has put burden on the commuters as they have to spend a lot of money on the maintenance of their vehicles, which get damaged due to plying on the poor road,” said Komal, a resident of the Sodal area, adding that “we pay taxes but the government has failed to provide safe roads to us.”

She said when somebody contacts MC officials, they always say that a tender had been floated for the maintenance of the road and the work was in progress and they would repair the road soon, but that never happens in reality as the officials concerned send employees to pour mud or cement over potholes that gets wash away easily.

When contacted, Rajnish Dogra, corporation engineer, B&R Department, he said the work on Workshop Chowk was going on and would take some time to be completed.

He said under the Smart city project 11 chowks were on the list to be beautified and the corporation would make sure that the work was done without troubling commuters.

What the official says 

Rajnish Dogra, corporation engineer, B&R Department, said the work on Workshop Chowk was going on and would take some time to be completed. He said under the Smart city project, 11 chowks are on the list to be beautified and the corporation will make sure that the work was done without troubling commuters.