The Times of India               19.07.2013

Panel sets 8-day deadline for road repairs

NASHIK: The standing committee of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Thursday directed the civic administration to fill potholes on all roads in the city within eight days.

The directive came at the meeting of the standing committee when the members complained about the administration failing to address the issue of potholes. They urged chairman of the committee Ramesh Dhongade to direct the administration to fill potholes at the earliest.

Accordingly, Dhongade directed asked the administration to "fill potholes on city roads within eight days and submit me the report at the next meeting of the standing committee. Direct the public works department engineers across the six divisions to undertake the works immediately."

Earlier, Ashok Murtadak from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena said, "The condition of the roads has deteriorated due to the monsoon. Roads riddled with potholes have become a major cause of inconvenience for citizens. I request the standing committee chairman to direct the administration to take immediate action."

Ashwini Boraste from the Congress said, "The condition of roads in prabhag no. 41 has deteriorated due to potholes, but the administration has neglected the issue. We are continuously receiving complaints from citizens. Should we hold an agitation to get the attention of the civic body?" she asked Dhongade.

Prakash Londhe from RPI (A) said, "The condition of most of the roads constructed two to three years ago has deteriorated. Either the administration did not supervise the construction or poor quality materials were used by the contractors."

City engineer Sunil Khune, however, cited shortage of macadam as the main reason for not filling potholes. "The city has around 3,000 km of roads, including 2,000 km of tar roads. As per the norms of the PWD, the roads should be resurfaced every four or five years. The proposals for resurfacing some roads in the city have been approved. Maintenance of the roads is the job of the contractor for a period of 36 months. Every year, we do road repairs. But this year there was shortage of macadam as the government had banned stone crushers in the city for environmental reasons. But the issue of shortage of macadam is likely to be settled shortly," he said.