The Times of India          18.11.2013 

CM sanctions 18 crore for repair of city roads

LUCKNOW: Ignorance of the government and callous attitude of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation has left roads of some localities in dire need of makeover. Residents have to struggle daily to commute on roads full of deep furrows and boulders. Lack of maintenance has led to deep erosion of upper layers of roads making them dangerous for riders, and in some cases, even fatal.

A senior resident of Rajajipuram sector-B fell off a bike and died instantly after hitting a boulder. Residents of the colony say the road has been ignored for the last 10 years even after repeated complaints. Anurag Bajpayee, a resident, said, "The road is dangerous as it breaks the suspension of cars if driving in speed. The locals are habitual but outsiders face a major risk." Locals complained, school children fell off rickshaws because of bad roads. Sudhir Tripathi, general secretary of an NGO working in this area, said, "A rickshaw turned upside down on this road injuring three women. When we complained, LMC said it had no funds for repair."

In other areas like Shankarpurwa ward-II of Vikasnagar, a road next to a government school is completely damaged and has huge pits. Even roadside vendors complain, "Bikes skid here because of large stones."

The Jal Nigam road near Cattle Colony, Balaganj which has often been pitted is accident-prone because of long pending repair work. Roads of other localities like Aliganj, Indiranagar, Mahanagar, Khurramnagar and Gomtinagar are also in want of repair urgently.

LMC repairs roads with money from 'Samagra Vikas Yojna', but has not received funds this year and wrote to the urban development department to provide money on priority basis. Municipal commissioner R K Singh said CM Akhilesh Yadav has allocated Rs 18 crore for uplift of certain roads in Lucknow under the new Nagariya Sadak Sudhar Yojna launched by ministry of urban development, GoUP from this year onwards to fund construction of roads across UP. Roads in worst condition would be taken up for repair first.

Officials claim they are likely to begin groundwork by mid-December.