Big potholes make it a bumpy, dangerous ride for commuters

Ludhiana: Even as big potholes on certain city roads are making it difficult for commuters to drive around, there are others which have not been constructed due to one or other reasons for the past so many years. People are forced to bear with potholes and bumpy rides on these roads with no immediate relief in sight. During the rains the problem increases all the more. However, the councillors claimed that road work had been approved but due to the rainy season it could not be started.
A road portion in ward number 91, from Chander Nagar towards Buddha Nullah, has been in a bad shape for a long time. The road has been washed away in certain portions and it is a challenge to drive on it. A resident of Chander Nagar, TP Gupta, said, “This road is an easy approach if one has to reach Jalandhar bypass from within the city and if we go from Clock Tower side, it takes a lot of time. This stretch needs urgent attention but for a long time nobody has even repaired it once.” He said the potholes were getting bigger with each passing day and during rainfall the situation turned worse.
Meanwhile, the councillor of ward number 91, Gurpinder Kaur Sandhu, while giving information claimed that, “Earlier, nobody paid attention towards road construction in this ward but since I represent this area many roads have been constructed. We get limited quota every year and only those much works get approval. Tenders for this road will be floated shortly and hopefully within one month we will be able to start work.” She said she got approval for cemented roads in the ward as these were better than bitumen, so it was taking more time.
There is another road from Jawala Singh Chowk to Jassian village, a portion of which falls within MC limits has been completely washed away. Recently, the civic body officials got road gulleys installed in this portion but the remaining road has also got damaged. A resident of Hari Singh Nagar, Kanu Jain, said, “This road connects many localities with the main road and for the past 15 years it had not been constructed even once. There are potholes on the road and during the rainy season the problem aggravates.” She said for two-wheeler riders the situation is more problematic as drivers lose their balance if the tyres get stuck in potholes. She demanded that the road should be constructed as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the councillor from ward number 94, Gurpreet Singh, said, “The construction of this road is approved by the civic body but I am getting some important works done before getting the construction of the road started. The sewerage is being cleaned as it had not been done for a long time and the road gulleys were laid down for drainage of rain water.”
He said they were tracing manhole lids which were had been covered during carpeting of the road as the sewerage line would not be cleaned and there would be a problem at the later stage. “We found one sewerage manhole lid at least five feet under the road, so it will be difficult to clean it properly,” he said and added that the road would be constructed shortly.