Open house: Should officials responsible for poor road works be taken to task?

Hold vigilance probe, Penalise guilty

Commuting in most localities of the city becomes difficult due to waterlogging after rains. It is no secret that in areas where seeping water across the road clogs sewers, residents face a harrowing time. Stagnation of water happens every time when it rains. However, if the MC keeps the city’s drainage system clean, at least sewer clogging can be tackled to some extent. Newly carpeted roads at many places peeled off due to poor workmanship and use of substandard materials. A vigilance probe should be conducted and officials found guilty be penalised.

Novin Christopher

QUESTION

In a disturbing situation, almost 54 per cent non-vaccinated persons have died of Covid in Ludhiana this month. However, around 24 per cent of the casualties were even fully vaccinated. Overall, 80 per cent of the Covid deaths were either non-vaccinated or had missed their second dose. What should be done to ensure total coverage of eligible persons with full vaccination against the dreaded virus?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to [email protected]

Fix accountability of officials

A government official is provided with power and resources so that money of tax payers could be used in the best possible interest of the public. Unfortunately, when we come across numerous public works carried out by the authorities concerned, we observe the quality aspect is ignored. Either nobody in the system is bothered or the authorities are working hand in gloves with the agencies and companies concerned. If such officials can be held accountable to each and every action of theirs, I think we can expect some positive outcome in the future, most importantly, in the favour of people, who suffer the most due to such unethical practices.

Pardeep Singh Bhamra

Take officials to task for poor works

Officials should be held responsible for their works such as recarpeting of roads worth crores and they should be taken to task for poor works. Though the works are to be done by contractors, it must be supervised by officials or other authorities concerned responsibly. The officials should not forget that they are representatives of people and serving for the public.

Shine Rawal

Strict action need of the hour

The winter rainfall turned city roads into pools. I am worried what will happen during the monsoon season. The drainage system of the city has totally failed and so is the carpeting works which seem to have been done with substandard material. As a result, potholes have appeared on roads, after only a few rain spells. Not only erring officials but also the contractors be booked for doing such poor works. Citizens pay taxes and, therefore, they deserve better facilities. Moreover, Ludhiana comes under the Smart City project, which only seems to be a joke. Stringent action against the guilty is the need of the hour.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

People should also make efforts

Officials are definitely responsible for not doing their work properly. Works such as road construction, keeping the drainage system functional are the duties of Municipal Corporation officials. But they do not do their work efficiently. People face a lot of inconvenience in many areas of the city due to their inefficiency. Especially in the rainy season, water remains accumulated in streets but officials did not bother about the same. We as a society should take initiative in our areas by forming committees to improve the situation.

Swati Garg

Act against guilty officials, contractors

Intermittent rains accompanied by icy winds that lashed the city during the past few days disrupted the power supply in several localities, besides leaving city areas flooded due to the poor drainage system and broken recarpeted roads. The rainwater flowed into several houses and shops in low-lying areas. Sewers overflowed badly on various roads, leaving residents to suffer. Several vehicles developed snags while passing through the waterlogged roads. People raised questions over the civic body’s preparedness for the rainy days. The pitiable condition of the roads in the city is an open invitation to mishaps. Potholes on the roads are crying for attention. The roads are being constructed with substandard material due to which they got damaged after some time. Strict action needs to be taken against erring officials and contractors. Firms should be held accountable for maintaining the roads and drainage system for 10 years. The irony is that the contractors and several officials responsible for taking action are hand in gloves with each other.

RS Sembhi

Make contractors redo works

It is unfortunate that many newly carpeted roads got washed away after rain. The contractors concerned of such works must be sent behind bars, and also all those who are responsible for such projects. Municipal corporations must ensure that there should be slopes on roads with proper drainage holes on both sides of the roads. A period of three or four years must be fixed for a recarpeting work, if the road gets peeled off during the period due to rain, the contractor concerned must recarpet it again at his own cost. Nobody should be allowed to throw waste or dig roads to install poles for any function. We should not throw dirt, filth and other material on roads which further leads to clogging of drains. Roads should be designed in a proper manner during the laying of pipelines.

Mohd Saleem Farooqui

Impose fine on erring officials

People are expecting that before the Assembly elections in the state, roads will be recarpeted but it seems to be a distant dream as all recarpeted roads got peeled off after the recent rains in the region. There was no check on works and the contractor and people concerned who are working under for such projects must be held responsible and fines must be imposed to them. In future, proper drainage systems must be made before recarpeting roads and big underground water pipes must be laid. We are facing same problems every year due to the administration’s apathy. It is the duty of the local authorities to provide good roads with proper drainage system.

Farzana Khan

Frame strict laws

The condition of roads and drainage system of our city is a matter of concern. During the rainy season, people have to bear the brunt due to the negligence of the officials and contractors concerned. The government is taking toll tax, house tax and other taxes from people in the name of providing safe and best roads and basic amenities. But unfortunately, we are getting nothing in return. People face inconvenience regularly in the city during rains. In many areas, repair and maintenance of roads are not being done in a proper manner. Officials, contractors and other authorities concerned must be heavily fined for the negligence caused in providing basic amenities to the public. Stringent laws must be introduced for providing strict punishment.

Ritu Priya

Give exemplary punishment to guilty

Gone are the days when rain invariably brought cheer. Today, it adds to annoyance and discomforts of residents of the city. Waterlogging occurs even on main roads and commuters have to struggle hard to reach their destinations. Water gets collected in potholes on roads which leads to many accidents. These puddles become breeding grounds for mosquitoes which increase the incidence of vector-borne diseases in the city. Heavy rainfall badly damages newly carpeted roads due to the use of substandard materials by contractors in road works. Responsibility of contractors, officials and all others involved in such works should be fixed and the guilty must get exemplary punishment.

Sunil Chopra

All persons involved be held accountable

Rains have exposed the quality of road and drainage works initiated in the city. Inconvenience caused to people is always ignored by the authorities concerned in cities. Officials and other persons involved in such projects must be held accountable for construction works. Election is a good time for people to raise such issues to improve the condition of roads in the city.

Jhalak Jalan

Form residents’ committees

“The officials concerned from the Municipal Corporation keep on making payments from public money for poor road works done by contractors. Road layers peel off soon due to poor recarpeting works and potholes appear after rains. It is the responsibility of the MC officials concerned to check the quality of material being used in the road construction and recarpeting works and payments should be made to the contractors only if quality material was used. Roads works are being done during adverse weather conditions due to which roads get damaged in a short time. To check the quality of material used in construction works, committees of local residents in colonies or other localities should be constituted and they should be made responsible to check the quality of works or any other municipal works undertaken in the area. Payments should be made to the contractor or officials concerned only if the committee says the work is satisfactory. The move will give satisfaction to residents and lessen accountability of the officials concerned.

Gautam Dev

Inspection of all works needed

The recent spells of rain has again exposed the defunct drainage system, besides the quality and workmanship of the recently recarpeted roads in the city. The administration should fix accountability of officials concerned if there are any issues related to roads and drainage system. Inspection of every public work must be done to avoid corruption.

Adish Sood

Accountability will stop misuse of funds

The government is talking about making Ludhiana a smart city but irony is that it is not able to provide basic facilities of good roads and drainage system. Every year crores of rupees are spent on the construction of roads and drainage system but one spell of rainfall exposes the poor quality of the works. To ensure effective utilisation of public funds, the government should hold officials accountable and take stringent action against them.

Medha Batra

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