Deadline over, gaping holes remain

NEW DELHI: On August 20, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi promised to repair 319 roads within a tight, almost tempting, 10-day deadline. With 10 days over, it seems it was teasing the commuter. Although some pothole filling and patchwork has evidently been carried out, it is far from complete. There is, in fact, a radical disconnect between claims by civic officials and evidence brought forward by TOI.Times City gives a progress report and finds out why some of the work is still pending.
While one would have thought that arterial roads and flyovers would get special consideration, the truth is quite different. On the Akshardham road for instance, potholes and large eroded patches were visible on Sunday. A team of repair workers had arrived, but work was clearly not ���in progress��� as they mostly just sat around. The Mehrauli-Badarpur Road was another high on commuter���s list of complaints.
The wide and busy GT Road in Seelampur was in the same condition it was two weeks ago. Aurobindo Marg, which had become a site of blame transferring for MCD since Metro���s construction work has been going on, has improved in patches. However, the work is variable and not consistent.
Internal roads, especially those in south Delhi colonies, remained entirely untouched. This was a problem that had been pointed out even by MCD���s own councillors who have had to face flak of residents. When heat was rising on government agencies to put together a plan to repair the pothole-ravaged roads, MCD came out with a shot-term and long-term approach. The short-term solution was to pull out those stretches where pothole filling and temporary patchwork with coal bitumen would solve immediate commuting and traffic woes.
The corporation ambitiously announced day and night squads comprising labourers and junior engineers who would report to chief engineers. These squads were to be given digital cameras so they could self-monitor their progress. A 10-day deadline and prosecution of chief engineers were also promised.
As it emerged, however, the squads never seemed to be working during daytime. ������Repairing potholes can disrupt traffic since rollers and cans would obstruct road space. These squads operate mostly during night, after 10.30,������ said an official. Yet municipal commissioner K S Mehra rated the corporation���s work quite high. ������I can say with confidence that 90% of the work has been carried out. I wish 100% of the work had been completed. I will get a full progress report on Monday,������ he said.
But while he rated the work well, he agreed that it was only an average Delhi figure. ������I���m giving you an overall Delhi figure for those 319 roads. It would be hard for me to vouch for individual stretches,������ he added.
The commissioner, however, agreed that public perception that work was not complete was something the corporation would have to battle. ������When filling or patchwork is done, it leaves an uneven surface. This creates the impression that the stretch is still not repaired,������ Mehra said.
But Mehra was certain the 10-day deadline was not unrealistic. ������For patchwork, 10 days is reasonable. The dense carpeting to make the roads fully even will obviously take a month, ������ he said.
On its part, the PWD also claimed that its pothole-filling work was almost complete. ������I can say 95% of pothole-filling is complete on PWD roads. I agree that there might be a few potholes lying unfilled, but those are very few,������ said MPD Jain, engineer-in-chief. Jain clarified that the 10-day deadline was strictly for filling potholes.
paulomi.mehta@timesgroup.com