Spate of road cave-ins pose threat to commuters’ lives

Spate of road cave-ins pose...

Besides, faulty water supply and sewer connections are also blamed for road cave-ins. But, no concrete measures have been taken to avoid such incidents on the city roads.

In 2015, MC’s then MC Commissioner GK Singh Dhaliwal had also written to the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board to carry out inspection to know the reason behind the cave-ins.

Ludhiana Smart City Limited has floated tenders to make Malhar Road a ‘smart’ road at an estimated cost of around Rs22 crore. According to an MC official, the old sewer system made of bricks passes under the road.

“There is a need to conduct inspection of the old sewer system made of bricks and if necessary, it should be replaced at the earliest. Besides, the MC should also study and know the exact cause behind cave-ins taking place on city roads,” said Satish Kumar, a resident of Pakhowal Road.

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said: “There is a dire need to replace the old sewer system passing through various parts of the city. We will make a plan for its replacement to avoid such incidents in future. We will also get the old sewer system at Malhar Road checked.”

More support pours in for RTI activist

The city has benefited a lot from his activism. We have come to know that some politically influential people are putting a lot of pressure to implicate Khaira in this case. The FIR against Khaira should be cancelled.”

A member of Sambhav Foundation, Rahul Verma, said: “We met the Police Commissioner today. The FIR against Khaira should be cancelled.”

Notably, Kuldeep Singh Khaira has also written to DGP Punjab and requested him to mark an inquiry to an IPS-rank officer for a fair probe. Khaira had alleged that the FIR was registered against him due to political pressure.

In the letter to DGP, Khaira claimed: “I had obtained information under the RTI Act. I have not stolen any record from the MC office. ATP Harwinder Singh Honey and Kamaljit Singh Karwal have levelled false allegations against me.”

Khaira had complained against the construction of flats at Ishar Nagar. Later, an inquiry was marked in the case regarding the construction of flats.