Residents claim temporary filling up of potholes will not suffice, what is needed is recarpeting. But why are the authorities not responding? Read on...
Dwarka roads are once again ridden with potholes and cracks — major junctions, turns and stretches are a nightmare to negotiate.
When one enters Dwarka through Palam Flyover, it’s easy to see damaged portions of Road No. 201, one of the busiest thoroughfares of the city. Residents say the damaged portions were only temporarily repaired, and have returned to their dilapidated state soon after.
Jitender Singh, a resident of Sector 3, said, “They merely fill the potholes with debris, or put concrete cement to provide temporary relief — that will not really help in the long run.”
Some damaged roads have been in that condition for more than four years. Every rainy season, temporary filling-up happens and the problem returns within a few months.
SK Mitra, a resident of Sector 4, said, “There's need for re-carpeting and not just filling up. The stretch from the signal towards Ashirwad Chowk is dangerous, as the surface is completely broken.”
JC Malhotra, a resident of Welcome Group CGHS in Sector 3, said, “The loose debris used as filling material just adds to dust pollution.”
When City Spidey got in touch with DDA chief Engineer, RK Singh, he said he will soon have a meeting with his officials on the issue.
But the real problem lies elsewhere...
According to the DDA, the roads of Dwarka were to be taken over by the PWD and the SDMC for maintenance, but the both the agencies are not ready to do so.
Master plan roads and service lanes were to be taken over by the PWD, while the smaller sector roads were to be taken over by the SDMC. “Neither of the agencies is ready to do so,” said an official from the DDA, on condition of anonymity.
According to sources, the DDA vice-chairman even sent a letter to the PWD Chairman on the subject.
On the other hand, according to DDA officials a meeting was held with SDMC officials in August for internal roads, but no conclusive decision was reached.
Here’s what the leader of the House SDMC, Kamaljeet Sherawat, had to say:
“A lot of confusion remained while defining the jurisdiction. Sometimes, one side of the roads belonged to one agency, while the other side to some other agency. Similarly, there’s confusion for drainage, nallahs and other similar constructions related to road infrastructure.”
She added, “I will meet the DDA vice-chairman next week on the subject. Ideally, either Delhi Government takes over all the roads and related subjects for Dwarka, or hands over the whole thing to SDMC. This would help in maintaining the area in a better and more effective way.”
