The Times of India 01.07.2011
Civic bodies slip on June 30 road repair deadline
LUCKNOW: The deadline for road repair set by the state human rights commission (SHRC) expired on Thursday. In fact, the Wednesday's rains had already exposed the tall claims of civic agencies – there was severe waterlogging in several areas of the city owing to dug-up roads and piles of mud made commuting next to impossible.
According to an estimate, work on over 150 km of roads within city is yet to start, leave alone the final concrete-laying. The civic authorities are now contemplating seeking more time from the commission to finish the repair work. Municipal officials said that rains have proved to be a deterrent. "There is a shortage of labourers because of heavy rains. Not much work could be done because of the weather," said additional municipal commissioner P K Srivastava.
"We would be requesting the commission to give us some more time. At least a week's time or so. We will be able to improve the situation as soon as rains cease," Srivastava added.
Meanwhile, residents of several areas had to wade through knee-deep water as heavy rains lashed the city from Wednesday evening onwards. Traffic too moved at a snail's pace on partially repaired roads. Worst-affected areas were the ones where authorities are yet to get the sewer chambers constructed or those where drains are yet to be cleaned. Such areas include Mahanagar and Aliganj. The situation was equally grim in colonies like Indiranagar and parts of Gomtinagar, where UP Jal Nigam had carried out a road-digging exercise to lay sewer lines. The mud made roads slippery and it was impossible to move out. "We were unable to move out as the road is not fit even for walking. It was not possible to drive on the slippery roads," said Kamlesh Bala, a senior citizen and a resident of Shivajipuram in sector-14, Indiranagar. "We have been deprived of our right to have proper roads," he said.
Municipal sources admitted that localities where chambers for the already laid underground sewer lines are yet to be constructed have tough times in store. It is not until the sewer lines are interconnected through these chambers that the sewer system would actually work. This would require that roads be dug-up again. And that's probably the reason for the delay in getting the roads repaired permanently. Engineers associated with the project said that the UP Jal Nigam is expected to construct these chambers before concrete-laying for the roads.
In the meantime, after Thursday's rains, some more areas were in for trouble. "The situation has gone from bad to worse because of the rains," said Sanjeev Bhattacharya, a resident of Ravindrapalli. The roads in a section of this locality were dug-up last year to lay sewer lines. The section is waiting for repairing of roads ever since, residents said.
As of now, the inability to meet the road repair deadline exposes the unplanned execution of crucial public amenities projects. Significantly, the UP Jal Nigam, and Lucknow Municipal Corporation in an undertaking before the SHRC on May 26 had promised to get the roads repaired by June 15. A report was supposed to be submitted with the commission on June 30.
In fact, chief minister Mayawati too had directed the authorities to get the roads repaired latest by June 30.
According to an estimate, work on over 150 km of roads within city is yet to start, leave alone the final concrete-laying. The civic authorities are now contemplating seeking more time from the commission to finish the repair work. Municipal officials said that rains have proved to be a deterrent. "There is a shortage of labourers because of heavy rains. Not much work could be done because of the weather," said additional municipal commissioner P K Srivastava.
"We would be requesting the commission to give us some more time. At least a week's time or so. We will be able to improve the situation as soon as rains cease," Srivastava added.
Meanwhile, residents of several areas had to wade through knee-deep water as heavy rains lashed the city from Wednesday evening onwards. Traffic too moved at a snail's pace on partially repaired roads. Worst-affected areas were the ones where authorities are yet to get the sewer chambers constructed or those where drains are yet to be cleaned. Such areas include Mahanagar and Aliganj. The situation was equally grim in colonies like Indiranagar and parts of Gomtinagar, where UP Jal Nigam had carried out a road-digging exercise to lay sewer lines. The mud made roads slippery and it was impossible to move out. "We were unable to move out as the road is not fit even for walking. It was not possible to drive on the slippery roads," said Kamlesh Bala, a senior citizen and a resident of Shivajipuram in sector-14, Indiranagar. "We have been deprived of our right to have proper roads," he said.
Municipal sources admitted that localities where chambers for the already laid underground sewer lines are yet to be constructed have tough times in store. It is not until the sewer lines are interconnected through these chambers that the sewer system would actually work. This would require that roads be dug-up again. And that's probably the reason for the delay in getting the roads repaired permanently. Engineers associated with the project said that the UP Jal Nigam is expected to construct these chambers before concrete-laying for the roads.
In the meantime, after Thursday's rains, some more areas were in for trouble. "The situation has gone from bad to worse because of the rains," said Sanjeev Bhattacharya, a resident of Ravindrapalli. The roads in a section of this locality were dug-up last year to lay sewer lines. The section is waiting for repairing of roads ever since, residents said.
As of now, the inability to meet the road repair deadline exposes the unplanned execution of crucial public amenities projects. Significantly, the UP Jal Nigam, and Lucknow Municipal Corporation in an undertaking before the SHRC on May 26 had promised to get the roads repaired by June 15. A report was supposed to be submitted with the commission on June 30.
In fact, chief minister Mayawati too had directed the authorities to get the roads repaired latest by June 30.
