Ludhiana MC's storm water drainage project misses deadline

Harshraj Singh
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 2

Municipal Corporation’s storm water drainage project on Old GT Road near Clock Tower missed the deadline as the work has not been completed even after 40 days of starting the project. Officials had earlier claimed the work would be completed by June 30.

The construction work related to road gullies was still pending while the uneven road surface is causing inconvenience to commuters. The area around newly constructed manhole slabs at Reikhy Cinema Chowk and other points is barricaded to prevent any damage to the slabs.

No preparedness for rainy days ahead

In view of the rainy days, no steps have been taken to avoid muddy/slippery conditions on the stretch that was dug for the installation of pipes. At present, the road is unlevelled. After rainfall last month, cave-ins had occurred at many points on the road.

Flying plumes of dust due to the passing of vehicles on the stretch keep annoying the commuters and shopkeepers. There are heaps of soil at different points on the stretch.

Moreover, in view of rainy days, no steps have been taken to avoid muddy/slippery conditions on the stretch that was dug for the installation of pipes. At present, the road is unlevelled. After rainfall last month, cave-ins had occurred at many points on the road. “Chances of more cave-ins can’t be ignored on the stretch if required steps are not taken. The civic body should get the project completed at the earliest,” said a shopkeeper.

A commuter, Rajdeep Singh, said: “A portion of the road near Reikhy Cinema Chowk was still barricaded today. Another major problem is that the road surface has not been levelled after laying drainage pipes underground.”

Notably, the MC had to install the storm water drainage pipes on a stretch between Rekhi Cinema Chowk and an old nullah (drain) near Bhadaur House under the project.

Some pipes were still lying in the open at Reikhy Cinema Chowk. However, officials said the pipes had already been laid.

The MC’s Sub-divisional officer Sandeep Sharma said almost all project works had been done while road gullies’’ work would be completed by tomorrow. Slabs had been constructed but these need to get dried for around 10 more days.

If barricading around newly constructed slabs was removed, the slabs could get damaged with the passing of heavy vehicles, he said.

Sharma said the storm water drainage line, which was connected with the drain, had been made functional and the rainwater would get drained out through the line.

The road reconstruction work has to be done by the MC’s B&R branch. Superintending Engineer of the B&R branch Teerath Bansal said they had asked the O&M branch to instruct the project contractor to refill the soil from where the road portion was dug up for installation of pipes and level the stretch surface too. He said: “If any road settlement appears during rainy days, steps would be taken to refill the soil. However, the stretch would be recarpeted only after the rainy season.”

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