What ails Pusta Road in I’puram: Dust, no cleaning, missing streetlights
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What ails Pusta Road in I’puram: Dust, no cleaning, missing streetlights

One of the busiest roads, which allow commuters from Ahinsa Khand II and Pratap Vihar reach NH-24, the road is in a pathetic condition and has become an accident trap for motorists.

What ails Pusta Road in I’puram: Dust, no cleaning, missing streetlights

Narendra Gupta, 28, a resident of Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad, daily takes the Pusta road in Indirapuram to travel to his workplace in Noida. But last month that routine travel took a nasty turn as he met with an accident on the road and ended up with a fractured leg.

It wasn’t a case of traffic rule violation or rash driving, says Gupta, but one of the many accidents that are routinely reported on the Pusta road owing to its pathetic condition.

One of the busiest roads in Indirapuram, allowing commuters from Ahinsa Khand II and Pratap Vihar reach NH-24, the road is in a dilapidated state.

Half of the road is covered in dust and sand, clearly giving an indication that no cleaning and sweeping has been done here for the past many months. Dirt accumulated on the side of the road is giving commuters a harrowing time.

“On that day, a car overtook me and because of that I had to shift to the left. That is when, my scooty skidded over the sand and I fell,” said 28-year-old Gupta. “The dusty road has become an accident trap for motorists.”

Narendra Gupta fractured his leg after his scooty skidded on the road

 

Defying the tall claims of district administration of maintaining an extraordinary score on Swachh Survekshan Grameen, 2018, the road is a clear example of utter neglect. Ghaziabad was named the fastest-moving big city in the pan-India survey conducted by the Central government – rising to rank 36 in 2018 from 351 in 2017.

Ram, 19, who works at a nursery located near Pusta road, told City Spidey that he has never seen any cleaning work being done on the road. “I have been living and working here for more than three months now but I have never seen anyone sweeping the road,” he said.

The commuters are also exposed to a high level of dust pollution here. “Each vehicle passing through the road throws up more dust in the air making it difficult to breathe. Worst affected are two-wheeler drivers and pedestrians,” said Saket Jain, a resident of Rishabh Cloud 9 Apartments in Indirapuram, who daily drives through the road.

The long list of negatives for the road doesn’t end here. The streetlights haven’t been working here, making the situation worse during night time. The road also acts as a bypass route for trucks to enter Delhi and adjoining areas and with no proper lighting, the situation points towards a disaster waiting to happen.

Dysfunctional streetlights and heaps of garbage lying along the road are giving commuters a harrowing time.

Ghaziabad's irrigation department looks after the maintenance of Pusta Road. When City Spidey reached out to Neeraj Kumar, executive engineer of the department, he acknowledged the issues and assured immediate inspection of the road. “I will personally visit the area and inspect the road,” he said.