Doon residents flag poor road repairs despite CM’s directions

Dehradun: Residents flagged poor road repairs across the city despite chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s recent directions to fix damage caused by repeated digging by civic agencies.Dhami had visited Jakhan on Friday following complaints and directed authorities to repair roads and footpaths damaged over the past year. Residents, however, said the problem persists in several areas. Terming it a “perennial issue”, they cited lack of coordination among govt departments and poor accountability on the ground.“In the past 18 months, power, gas and water departments have carried out work that has left stretches from Kishanpur to ONGC Chowk and around Ballupur flyover damaged,” said DD Arora, a Rajender Nagar resident.Residents said repairs are often delayed ahead of the monsoon, leaving roads in poor condition for much of the year.Similar concerns were raised along Sahastradhara Road, where work by multiple agencies has disrupted daily life. “Large spools of underground cables were left on footpaths for months by UPCL. Constant digging has left the area dusty. Sidewalks have been reduced to loose tiles at several places,” said Ashish Garg.In Rajpur, cabling work by UPCL was completed about 15 months ago, but full road restoration is still pending. Officials said most ongoing projects are being undertaken by UPCL, GAIL and Jal Sansthan.A senior UPCL official said groundwork for underground cabling is largely complete, though the two-year project will continue till mid next year. “Complaint redressal works are carried out separately and are not linked to the cabling project. In most cases, roads have been handed over to the department concerned,” the official said, requesting anonymity.Officials added that UPCL’s work had been halted twice by the district administration over irregularities, and quick response teams are assessing problem areas.They said permission norms have been revised, with short-term approvals now being granted for limited stretches instead of citywide work. Permissions are largely restricted to night hours to minimise inconvenience. GAIL has been exempted for PNG-related work due to the ongoing gas crisis, officials said.