It’s a bumpy ride on Ludhiana’s cremation ground road as repair work stopped midway
The carpeting work of the Cremation Ground Road in Model Town Extension in Ludhiana was started in December but stopped in January and temperatures started dipping.
In a perfect example of a half-baked plan going awry, the carpeting work of the Cremation Ground Road in Model Town Extension has been stopped midway due to unsuitable weather conditions. The project was started by the municipal corporation in December, with an eye on assembly elections, but the work had to be suspended in January due to dip in temperatures.
The result: One side of the road has been covered with premix while the other half continues to have potholes, with a height difference of at least two to three inches between both sides. Due to this, residents say driving on this stretch has become risky and several accidents have also taken place over the last few days.
Preet Basant, a resident of Guru Gian Vihar, said, “In the first week of January, when I was passing through this stretch on my two-wheeler, I lost balance and fell on the road. I was fortunate that I got away with a few minor injuries, but such road conditions can also prove fatal.”
He further added, “The civic body should not have started the project during cold weather conditions. If they start it, they should ensure timely completion. Authorities should not play with the lives of residents just for electoral gains.”
Area councillor Harbhajan Dang, who owes allegiance to Shiromani Akali Dal, also slammed authorities for leaving the work midway. He claimed that the municipal corporation (MC) had failed to check quality of the road repair works at other places in the city too.
“This (Cremation Ground) road has been crying for attention for a long time. The repair works started last month, but the authorities left it incomplete. The MC should have commenced the project a little earlier, as they knew that the cold weather conditions would hamper the work. When accidents take place, we end up facing the public ire.”
“Authorities have also failed to ensure quality of repair works in other places in the city. On most roads, the bitumen starts wearing off within weeks of repair. It is a waste of public money, if substandard material is used for these projects.”
MC superintending engineer Rahul Gagneja said, “We will resume the repair work on Cremation Ground Road, as soon as the temperature becomes favourable.”