Maintain roads in good condition for Diwali, Suez told

Coimbatore: West zone corporation authorities have told the French firm implementing the 24x7 drinking water project in the city not to damage roads for the next one week to offer a smooth ride for the people who are on a shopping spree for Diwali.
With the fest of lights around the corner, all the commercial hubs in the city are nowadays crowded with shoppers. Now that most of the roads are in a damaged state, commuters are facing hardship while travelling through the city roads.
In this wake, west zone corporation chairman Theivanai Thamizhmarai instructed the officials of Suez, the French firm, to stop further works that involve digging up of roads till Diwali festival was over and take up works to mend damaged roads in the meantime. She took a decision in this regard at the zonal council meeting on Monday.
According to Thamizhmarai, commercial areas such as RS Puram and Saibaba Colony fall in the west zone. “People going to these places for shopping should not face more difficulties. Hence, I asked Suez officials not to damage any roads. They have agreed to it. And they have started mending the roads that were dug up earlier. They have also shared with us photos of places such as Vivekananda Street, where repair work is being carried out. Hope they will attend to all the damaged roads in the next one week.”
Corporation commissioner M Prathap said while Suez officials initially stated that the contract had no mention about restoring the roads to their original position, the firm had been repairing the damaged roads to the best of their abilities. “We told them that it was their responsibility and promised to bear the cost if the same was not proved to be their job.”