GMC gears up to complete road repair work by Oct 30
GHAZIABAD: With the Uttar Pradesh government issuing directions to all municipal corporations and local bodies across the state to complete repairs and ensure roads are pothole-free by October 30, officials of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation (GMC) said they have expedited the road repair work and are likely to complete it by the stipulated deadline.
The directions with regard to road repairs were issued by the additional chief secretary of the state urban development department.
Residents said the prolonged monsoon added to their woes as roads in Rajendra Nagar, Shalimar Garden, Vikram Enclave, Tulsi Niketan, and at Apsara border, among other areas, are in serious need of repair.
According to data of the India Meteorological Department, Ghaziabad received 310.2mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 29 against the normal precipitation of 544.7mm this monsoon. However, most areas of the city become waterlogged after a spell of rain.
“The entire stretch below the Red Line of the Metro is very patchy and roads in other localities have potholes. Due to waterlogging caused by heavy rain, roads in many localities have been damaged. If not repaired in time, it will soon lead to air pollution creating more troubles to commuters,” said Jugal Kishor, a resident of Shalimar Garden.
He said residents have been demanding that the roads be repaired for a long time. The current state of the roads poses a risk to two-wheeler riders, said Kishor.
“There are instances of vehicles getting damaged due to potholes and patchy stretches. The roads in many sectors of Vaishali need immediate repairs,” said BK Pandey, a Vaishali resident.
Officials from the corporation said they are likely to spend about ₹40 crore to make the roads pothole-free and do resurfacing work. “The engineering department has almost completed the assessment; tenders for resurfacing will be floated soon for each of the roads which have been damaged during monsoon. Filling up of potholes may cost us about ₹5 crore. We are expediting the process and are likely to complete the work in October itself,” said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.
Mohan Sangwan, a resident of Indirapuram, said the condition of roads is no different in his area where 70km of the road network is maintained by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).
“The roads at Kala Patthar near Swarn Jayanti Park and its adjoining areas have suffered the most during the monsoon. Patchy roads and potholes are a common sight. The CISF road is in a bad state for the past one year due to the water pipeline project,” said Sangwan.
“In Indirapuram, the Jal Nigam will start repairing the CISF road while the GDA will immediately start the work of making the roads pothole-free. The GDA will issue separate tenders for repairing potholes and road resurfacing work. According to our estimates, of the 70km road network in Indirapuram, about 3% is damaged,” said AK Chaudhary, executive engineer, GDA.