Yawning potholes and pits riddle Ahmedabad roads

It seems the engineering department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC’s) needs to learn the basics of planning for monsoon afresh.

Poor quality work has given rise to hundreds of big pits on various city roads, damaging not only vehicles but also spinal cords of citizens. And, the civic body seems to have turned a deaf ear to the problem as it has not taken care to fill the pits with debris and bricks so as to lessen commuters’ woes.

The roads, especially in the new west zone, have been facing huge problems. “I visited Prernatirth derasar a couple of evenings back and found the roads riddled with pits one-and-a-half feet deep. Had I been riding a two-wheeler, I would surely have met with an accident,” said a senior official of the engineering department, adding that it would be criminal not to carry out basic work like filling up the potholes and pits with debris.

Irrespective of the road being covered under contractor’s liability period, it is the basic practice of the civic body to fill up the big pits with debris and bricks. Patchwork is not possible till the moisture level comes down. “We know that it is as temporary solution. But surely it should not be neglected,” said the engineer.

The ruling party has realised the situation, albeit late in the day. “I have instructed all the additional city engineers to fill the potholes immediately,” said Bhupendra Patel, chairman of AMC’s standing committee.

Rs75-cr road projects approved
The standing committee approved road resurfacing work of around Rs75 crore at its meeting on Thursday. It will help the civic body resurface the roads, which have been washed away by rain but not falling under the liability of contractors.

Zone-wise allotment
South zone –     Rs11 crore

North zone –     Rs10 crore

East zone   –     Rs19 crore

West zone  –     Rs24 crore

New west zone –     Rs11 crore

Rs5 crore needed for patchwork
AMC needs to spend at least Rs5 crore on patching up damaged roads. Except for central zone, each of the five zones of the city would require at least Rs70-80 lakh for patchwork. 

Over 300 stretches washed away
There are more than 300 stretches in the city which have been washed away this monsoon. Some of the wards like Jodhpur in new west zone, Vastral and Ramol-Hathijan in east zone and Chandkheda-Motera in west zone are some of the worst-affected wards in the city in terms of road damage.