Deadline ends in five days, but clawed-up roads await repairs

Pune: Gauri Kulkarni, a resident of Kothrud, is bracing for the state of the roads this monsoon. Waterlogging, potholes and slushy streets are all a given now.That’s because the deadline to complete road restoration ends in five days and many roads have been dug up and left unfilled across the city. If the repairs are not completed in time, commuters will face immense problems in a few days, many residents observed.Kulkarni said even though there is a new civic body and people elected new corporators, it appears that the administration is not serious about public issues. “Despite knowing that the pothole-filled and dug-up roads cause untold hassles to commuters, the same problem exists every year,” she added.The dug-up roads are accident-prone. “They not only lead to traffic jams, but also mishaps. The roads which connect to the highways are facing even more problems due to the movement of heavy vehicles in the vicinity,” Rucha Joshi, a resident of Satara Road, said.Roads are dug up for laying the utility lines or cables, but restoration appears to be of poor quality. Nilesh Nikam, leader of opposition in PMC, said, “The work is not only delayed, but also half done in many places. The administration must increase vigil and take steps to improve the quality of road works.”PMC officials said that they instructed ward offices to expedite the repairs. The civic body has permitted digging of around 75,000 running metres of roads, and around Rs 50 crore has been collected as restoration charges from private firms as well as govt agencies.Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sangharsha Samiti, a citizens group, said, “The poor quality of road repairs has become a regular feature as it serves vested interests of some civic officials, contractors and politicians. A nexus between these people delays road work. Action against senior officials should be taken to give the right message.”Rajesh Bankar, head of PMC’s road department, said, “The works have been divided between the road department and ward offices. More time will be given to ward offices as the tendering process to appoint contractors has been delayed. The emergency works of drainage and water supply are allowed.”A Bad Spot? You can complainThe administration has urged citizens to raise complaints via the PMC portal and helplineYou can do it onIn most cases, roads are dug by telecom operators, electricity service providers, cellphone operators, internet service providers and piped gas companies to lay cables or pipesAs many as 26 firms and operators carried out such work and paid the civic body for the samePMC charges around Rs 12,000 per running metre to repair the roads, and the contractors were expected to restore the road to its original condition or incur a fineCivic officials said they have kept strict vigilance on the quality of roadsA third party was roped in for surveying 1,200 km of roadsBased on its findings, 33 contractors were fined nearly Rs 50 lakh for poor-quality work under the defect liability period