Some tar here and there but nowhere in Vesu & Katargam!

SURAT: Roads in posh Vesu and Katargam municipal zones in the city have returned to their original pre make-up looks. After moderate rain in the past 24 hours washed away all the cosmetic touch, SMC’s much proclaimed repair works, done some 40 days ago, stand exposed in all its naked reality today.
Skirting around pond-like water puddles on the middle of the roads have turned commuters here into acrobats. In Vesu of Athwa zone, major parts of roads from Aagam arcade to Someswara complex are filled with huge potholes and leave commuters, especially for those who have to pass from these areas twice a day, not only jumping in their seats and hurting their spines, but also damaging their vehicles.
Katargam is the worst affected zone and people riding on two and four wheelers are worst hit. Major roads of the zone like Katargam Darwaja to Katargam zone office road, road going towards Katargam Balashram is riddled with craters on both sides. What’s worse is the ride on the gravel-filled roads now after they lost the thin tar cover in the recent bout of rain.
Road going towards Kansanagar from Katargam Darwaja and the one from Ved Darwaja to Katargam Darwaja, another to Ladarwaja from Manav Ashram are poor examples of roads which are difficult to distinguish from unlaid portion of land. “Come towards Lal Darwaja junction if you want to jump around your seat,” said Uday Ramani, a diamond businessman from Katargam area, who spewed venom on SMC for its bad patch work on roads that are now damaging vehicles too.
But Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has an answer to all issues, though by its own admission says “nearly 25 per cent of each zone’s bitumen roads are damaged.”
“Water and tar don’t go together and so all paver work stopped during monsoon,” a senior official explained. He added that whatever is done is a “stop gap arrangement” done for “people’s convenience” and only in dry season that “good patch work” will be redone!
However, he added a silver lining: “We have started converting many bitumen (Tar) roads into concrete ones which will last the beating of water and rain.”