Money comes but time gone: Covid-19 halts road repair in Chandigarh

Deepak Yadav | TNN | Apr 22, 2020, 20:44 IST

Road damage near the PGI, Chandigarh, was accentuated by rain during the Covid-19 lockdown in the city

CHANDIGARH: The roads not re-carpeted in the last financial year for want of money remain broken due to Covid-19 curfew. Summer (March to June) is the repair season and half of it is gone.
The future chances of the work's restarting aren't bright either. The engineering department of the municipal corporation has 250 kilometres of road to recarpet. This job worth Rs 30 crore pending since the last fiscal covers both external and internal roads.
An MC official said: “We have called a few tenders for re-carpeting and even allotted some of the contracts based on the bidding amount but the work is at a standstill due to curfew and the Covid-19 scare.”
Another MC officer said: “Usually, this is the best time of the year for re-carpeting. Heat binds the tar well, which rains and winter don't allow. But contractors are unable to bring in raw material from adjoining Mohali and Panchkula due to lockdown. Only essential items can be shipped.”
A year of non-repair has left potholes on the roads in many sectors. In villages and poor colonies, the troughs are deeper and the ride bumpier. The damanged surfaces include many main roads. Sources in the engineering department said now when they had money for re-carpeting and the contractors had received their dues, the pandemic situation was not allowing them to start the work.