Decks cleared for road repair in Patiala

After facing intense criticism, the Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) has finally decided to abolish the contract of road repair given to L&T. “It has been decided that the MC will take charge of the repair work,” said civic body officials.

The decision was taken following directions of Mayor Kundan Gogia during the first MC General House meeting held today. The company, which is carrying out the surface water project in the city, was blamed for delaying the road repair work. Due to broken road, people across the city were facing bumpy ride. There were complaints that at several places where the road was repaired, its surface soon peeled off after re-carpeting.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Anuj Khosla raised the issue of broken roads during the General House meeting of the MC. Khosla flagged the issue of broken roads in different parts of the city. Proof of the poor quality of repairs being done by L&T was presented in the form of pictures.

Last year, the Punjab Government had imposed a fine of Rs 8.46 crore on Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for delay in completing the 24x7 water supply project in Patiala.

Serious delay in the re-carpeting and poor repair work were some of the reasons found during the review meeting with officials of the MC and L&T. The canal-based water supply project aimed at improving the water distribution system and controlling depleting level of underground water. The project included a water treatment plant of 115 MLD (million litre per day) capacity, a 19.75 MLD water reservoir, besides 236 MLD storage and sedimentation tank.

The construction work was allotted to a contractor for Rs 342 crore, out of which Rs 16.33 crore was meant for the restoration of roads after laying the pipeline. Besides, the proposal of road widening near Shree Bhoothnath Mandir and installing 51-feet statue of Dr BR Ambedkar were also passed at the meeting.