Poorly restored roads continue to haunt city

Nagpur: The deplorable condition of vast stretches of roads starkly belies the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) claims of having repaired over 1,500 potholes across the city over the last one month. Roads dug up for utility work are particularly problematic, with restored sections riddled with potholes leaving these hazardous, especially for two-wheeler riders.

A significant portion of this problem stems from the work done by NMC’s water works department under Amrut 2.0 scheme. Roads spanning hundreds of kilometres were dug up to lay new pipelines, intended to boost the city’s water supply system. What was meant to be a beneficial project has instead turned into a nightmare for motorists. Traffic police also flagged poorly restored roads causing chaos on the streets. One example is the stretch near NMC’s Mangalwari Zone office. A portion of this road was dug up for pipeline work, but its restoration was inadequate, leaving nearly half of the tar road dotted with potholes.A similar situation is observed on Bijli Bhavan Road. Here, the left side of the road — from Bijli Bhavan to Bohra Masjid — was dug up for pipeline installation. The restoration was subpar and the road soon developed crater-sized potholes.According to a local resident Rohit Jain, this has resulted in motorists avoiding the damaged portion of the road, which in turn, creates traffic bottlenecks on the remaining, drivable sections during peak hours. Similar road condition is spotted on the Gandhi Nagar Square-Abhyankar Nagar Square stretch and in front of Meetha Neem Dargah in Civil Lines. On the contrary, the cement road in front of NMC’s headquarters was restored properly after laying pipelines.Apart from slowing down traffic, loose gravel from recently restored patches on these roads is causing two-wheelers to skid, eyewitnesses said. The dust particles from these roads also pose a significant problem for riders, causing irritation to the eyes of both two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. The dust reduces visibility, further increasing the risk of accidents. Motorists have urged NMC to deploy sanitary workers to clean these roads and remove gravel to improve safety.The NMC has acknowledged the issue and has promised to take swift action. But many residents remain sceptical about NMC’s assurance, citing past instances of unfulfilled promises. Atul Bakal, a resident of Narendra Nagar, argued that the civic body should have ensured proper restoration of the roads like the busy Inner Ring Road immediately after completion of pipeline work, rather than waiting for the situation to deteriorate.“Poor roads are causing inconvenience to motorists. Two-wheeler riders, in particular, are at a high risk of accidents due to the uneven surface and deep potholes. Several incidents of riders losing balance and sustaining injuries have already been reported,” acknowledge traffic cops deployed on roads.
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