LUDHIANA: Troubled by
hollow roads around the unfinished City Centre structure — which was turning into ruins — residents of Shaheed
Bhagat Singh Nagar have demanded a permanent solution to the problem. They rued that most of the roads were hollow at this time because sand in the City Centre structure had settled down. The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) officials had closed the road from where a portion of the City Centre structure had eroded recently, and residents claimed officials were afraid the road would cave in if vehicles continue moving over it.
On September 25, a road had got damaged due to incessant rainfall, and since then, LIT officials have been repairing the road. Officials had estimated that the adjoining road had been swept away up to 40 feet, and this was the reason they were not opening the road to traffic. Notably, in 2011 too, a similar incident had taken place in the area when three roads had been swept away with rainwater in the City Centre. LIT officials had written to the government even at that time for the construction of a retaining wall, but they did not get the permission for it.
Area resident and shopkeeper Arvind Sharma said: “We have been demanding the construction of a retaining wall around the city centre structure for a long time, so that there is no harm to other roads and buildings in the area. But all our requests have fallen on deaf ears, and danger is looming large on residents of this area, as roads and adjoining buildings may collapse any time.”
Echoing a similar view, senior citizen Amarjit Singh said: “Officials had kept sandbags near the city centre as a temporary arrangement to avoid erosion of land from there, but what about other areas?” He said the road had been closed for vehicles, which was creating problems for commuters. Businessman Balraj Chopra, another area resident, said: “In every rainy season, we live in constant fear of damage to roads, buildings, and even spread of diseases due to this City Centre structure. Water gets accumulated inside the structure, which is a haven for mosquitoes.”
Meanwhile, LIT superintending engineer Rakesh Garg said: “Repair work is still going on, so we have closed the road for vehicles. It will take another week to complete the repairs at the site.” Regarding the demand of residents for a retaining wall, Garg said LIT chairman PS Gill had written to the state government for permission to construct a retaining wall, but since a court case was going on, they were avoiding construction.
