Capital roads spruced up for monsoon

NEWDELHI: People can expect pothole-free travel in the Capital this monsoon as the government is repairing about 200km of streets, the most extensive roadwork in five years.

The ₹180-crore project includes about 120 stretches of roads, some of which have not been serviced since 2012.

The public works department (PWD) says the work is likely to be completed by May-end, almost a month before the rainy season sets in.

“Some of the roads were built during the Commonwealth Games in 2010. During monsoon, potholes appear because of lack of repairs,” a PWD official said.

Flyovers are left out because these are maintained regularly.

“But roads were neglected for a long time. After this, no major repairs would be required for five years,” the official said.

The department has broadly divided its work into three zones — north, east and south — and an equal number of categories based on a survey.

Damaged roads will be “resurfaced” with a new bitumen-and-gravel topping. Those with small defects will either get a patchwork or strengthened with a coat of tar.

The roads suffer frequent wear and tear in the city, which records about a million vehicles on its streets every day. The problem aggravates during the rains as water loosens and washes away the binding material from the road surface.

The damaged roads put motorists and pedestrians at risk, slow down traffic and trigger snarls.

The PWD, which maintains about 1,260km of roads in the city, has a wing to attend to people’s complaints about potholes and rough patches.

The department is working on a plan to reduce waterlogging and drains are expected to be cleaned by June 15.

The city’s roads are notorious for monsoon flooding because of silted, blocked drains that run alongside or beneath the streets. The government is often accused of not cleaning the drains.

New Delhi’s drainage system was built in 1976 and it can carry only 25mm of water an hour, making them inadequate when it rains all day.

Civil engineers designed the drains based on an estimated figure of how much the city will grow till 1981.