Rain-battered roads and ongoing underground cabling works at many colonies have made commuting a nightmare for motorists in the city. People have been criticising the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation(GVMC) officials for allowing digging of roads and taking up such works during monsoon season. People allege that after the recent rains, small potholes in their colony roads have gone deeper and bigger, while the bigger ones have turned dangerous, posing a threat to the two-wheeler riders.
“In the name of development, the officials have dug the roads a couple of times. The roads were not properly relaid. If a motorist does not carefully watch, he/she may skid on the road or fall,” said K. Raju, a resident of China Waltair, showing the bad condition of his colony roads.
Locals from Murali Nagar said that the road stretch from NGOs Colony to Madhavadhara used to a be very decent one a few years ago. But now, travel on the stretch became bumpy and dangerous. They also complain that about 40% of tar road was damaged due to UGD works and a few other works in the stretch. Though a part of the dug up road was filled with concrete, the road condition has turned bad due to rains, they complain.
“Since the last two years, the roads have not been properly restored. Even the interior colony roads are in a very bad condition. In most of the parts, the gravel dug up is not removed, leading to skidding of bikes in the area,” said M. Satyanarayana, who runs a fast food centre at Murali Nagar.
Flyover and water pipeline works between NAD Junction and Gopalapatnam have made the journey on the BRTS road a difficult one. Locals claim that officials have just done a temporary filling work. Road digging activities near Visakha Eye Hospital have been causing problems to the commuters. The stretches between Tenneti Park and Appughar, Jagadamba Junction and Vizag Central, Daba Gardens, Akkayyapalem have a number of potholes.
Apart from the 73 km of NH-16 passing through the city, there is around 950 km of internal roads in the city. According to the GVMC officials, no major road repair works were taken up since the last two years. However, a few works to fill potholes and patchworks were done at several points. “Driving along Gajuwaka BC road and a few other roads in the interior areas has been very difficult. Most of the service roads and NH-16 at certain points are damaged and filled with potholes. The government has not taken up any repair works since the last two years,” said Corporator of Ward 78 and CPI(M) leader B. Ganga Rao.
According to a senior traffic police officer, in many two-wheeler accidents, the bikes skid due to loose gravel and potholes. These accidents are generally not reported in police stations. But they occur in many internal roads, due to bad roads and lack of street lighting, the officer said “Many roads have some issues in the city. Whether the road is under the control of R&B, Port or GVMC, they need to be repaired on a priority basis,” the officer said.