6 months on, Patiala roads in a mess

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, December 5

Residents of the royal city are facing double whammy these days. They are not only having a bumpy ride, but are also exposed to pollution caused by dust, courtesy of roads, which were dug up six months ago for laying 24×7 canal-based drinking water supply line and left abandoned.

Ironically, while the road digging has left the city in shambles, the district administration is planning to conduct heritage festival to attract tourists. As authorities are in no mood to repair broken roads, visitors to the heritage festival were bound to face problems.

Even the stretch housing the official residences of Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police is dug up on one side and frequently witnesses traffic jam.

The rain last week compounded the problem. Roads have turned slippery. People are also complaining about flying dust, which was adding to the air pollution. Residents, particularly elderly, women, and schoolchildren, are at the receiving end.

Inhabitants of Ajit Nagar, Bank Colony and Dhariwal Colony rue that they find a blanket of dust gathered on their vehicles and in the porch every morning. “Imagine the plight of residents who are having health issues such as bronchitis and asthma and those suffering from dust allergies,” said Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Bank Colony.

Dr Pankaj Mohindru, a professor at Punjabi University and a resident Ajit Nagar, said, “What to talk of driving, one could barely walk on the topsy-turvy stretch. The road has disappeared and no one is bothered to re-carpet it after it was dug up. The entire locality is in a mess.”

Recently, local MLA Ajitpal Singh Kohli had pulled up the authorities concerned and asked them to complete the recarpeting work. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Aditya Uppal, who was transferred to Jalandhar today, had also instructed the company concerned to start the repair work, but to no avail.

When asked, Sunil Mehta, secretary, MC, said the PWD had been assigned the job to recarpet roads and it had already started the work in some areas.

Flying dust woes

• Inhabitants of Ajit Nagar, Bank Colony and Dhariwal Colony rue that they find a blanket of dust gathered on their vehicles and in the porch every morning.
• “Imagine the plight of residents who are having health issues such as bronchitis and asthma and those suffering from dust allergies,” said Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Bank Colony.

Heritage fest: Visitors set to face problems

• While the road digging has left the city in shambles, the district administration is planning to conduct heritage festival to attract tourists.
• As authorities are in no mood to repair broken roads, visitors to the heritage festival were bound to face problems.