Pune: Path work exposes poor road repairs, adds to citizens’ agony

PUNE: The poor quality of road repair work carried by the civic body was once again exposed on Wednesday, as the administration hurriedly tried to repair the potholes at the Tilak Smarak Mandir Chowk after the Congress announced to stage an agitation against the issue.
The repairs, instead of praise, attracted the commuters and local residents’ ire due to the poor quality of work. The civic staff hastily filled the potholes with a concrete mix, but did not pay attention to the quality, further worsening the situation. The activists claimed that the restoration work was not in accordance with the Indian Roads Congress (IRS) guidelines and the material used for the work was “substandard”.

A group of Congress workers found another pothole nearby and staged a protest by playing ‘Gilli Danda’ using it.
Prashant Inamdar of Pedestrians First said unscientific approach and use of substandard and inappropriate material were compelling the administration to repeatedly repair the same road patches. He said, “No standards like using cold mix or hot mix for the repair work are followed. Even paver blocks are used to fill the potholes. Tar roads are being repaired with cement concrete. On the other hand, concrete roads are developing cracks. This shows that there is a lack of scientific approach to the repair work.”
Inamdar emphasised on the need for quality check of the material being used for repairs. “The material should be tested in laboratories. The administration should also check if the contractors are trained to carry out road and repair works. Otherwise, the ongoing repair works will only be a fire-fighting exercise and the roads will again develop potholes.” he said.
Aba Bagul, leader of the Congress in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said despite spending huge money on the road repair tenders, the civic administration has failed to keep the roads pothole-free.
“The repair and restoration works are not up to the mark and also not as per the set standards. All major roads are in a pathetic condition. If the contractors are supposed to carry out repairs during the defect liability period, why is the civic body doing it?. There is a nexus between the officials and contractors which is leading to poor road condition,” Bagul said.
He said the civic chief should initiate action against officers concerned for failing to inspect the road works as per the technical parameters.
Hemant Rasane, chairman of the standing committee, said, “The civic body will try to repair the roads at the earliest. We have planned to finish the works in a fortnight.”
V G Kulkarni, head of the PMC’s road department, said the civic administration has deployed mobile road repair units. “The contractors will be held responsible for their work. They will be directed to do the repair work. Action will be taken against those doing substandard work,” he said.
A PMC officials said urgent repair work could not be carried out due to the heavy showers. “Different material are used for improving the quality of road repair work during monsoon. But there are limitations to do the repairs, when it rains heavily,” said the official.