Chennai: Engineers told to inspect road work at midnight

CHENNAI: As complaints about fresh roads being laid without milling the old surface continue to pour in, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has directed its assistant engineers to be present during the re-laying works at midnight.
According to the minutes of a recent meeting, zonal officers must take pictures of their night inspections and send them to the city corporation commissioner.
Further, GCC has directed the regional deputy commissioner (central) and chief engineer (general) to inspect all the 14 road works that had milling issues in the Ambattur zone and file a report. Recently, the civic body put an executive engineer in the Manali zone on wait after complaints of non-milling were raised by anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam.
Ensuring compliance: Chief engineer (General) S Rajendiran said the engineers should ensure that the heat of the of the crushed stone (blue metal) and asphalt must be around 150-160 degree Celsius. “They have been asked to ensure that rolling is done properly, and there is adequate thickness of 40mm. The project management consultant will also inspect the roads,” he said.
Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, said if the corporation is asking the AEs to conduct inspections at midnight, then they must be allowed to work in shifts. “After working an entire day, if inspections are to be carried out at midnight, they may not do it properly. The corporation must recruit more people and adjust work timings,” he said.