Irked by civic body’s cavalier approach, residents start repairing market road

Doraha, August 23

Irked by the Doraha Municipal Council’s indifferent approach towards recarpeting of Doraha’s main market road, which is riddled with potholes, residents today themselves took on the necessary patchwork and repairs. The road had deteriorated over-time due to lack of upkeep and recarpeting.

Thousands of vehicles, ranging from two-wheelers to huge commercial trucks, travel down the thoroughfare. Incidents of slipped discs, bone injuries, and in some cases, fractures are commonplace for here, two-wheeler riders often lose balance after hitting a pothole.

Doraha serves as the commercial hub for the majority of the surrounding villages, including Jaipura, Kaddon, Katani, Gurthali, Bilaspur, Ajnaud, Landa, Buani, Rampur, Heeran, Panglian, Begowal, Ghulal, Balala, Lopon, Mehdoodan, Chak Sarai, Chak Sarwan Nath and Chandran. However, the broken dusty stretch has made life for customers and shopkeepers a virtual hell. Commuters report that the trip down this road is quite uncomfortable.

“We don’t understand why the authorities have taken such a cavalier approach to this very serious issue of ours,” a commuter rued. “At night, the road takes on a more ominous appearance. The commuter never knows what is ahead of him and risks injury when speeding,” a retailers said.

Irked by the council’s apathetic attitude, Doraha traders deployed labour on their own expense today to fill in the potholes that had now reached ‘lethal proportions’. The management of Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib provided the necessary materials for repairs. Residents are disappointed that despite being warned several times about the awful state-of-affairs, they appear to regard it as unimportant. “What good is a council if they are unable to provide even the basic services to residents? It is truly unacceptable and humiliating on the side of the government,” a resident said.

When contacted, Doraha Municipal Council Executive Officer Harnarinder Singh said, “The authorities had approved the recaprteing work before the elections, and we also invited tenders. However, the procedure was unable to begin due to enforcement of the poll code. The work has now been assigned to a contractor and is pending approval from higher authorities. It will begin in the first week of September. The bitumen work could only be completed once the monsoon had passed.”