Potholes, bumpy rides: Hole story of roads in Sector 6, Panchkula
The road leading from Sector 6-7 main road to General Hospital, Sector 6, is filled with large-sized and deep potholes.
Members of the Rashtriya Yuva Dal had recently painted the potholes on the roads with white and yellow paint. (Express photo by Jaipal Singh)
SECTOR 6 is where several apex Haryana government offices are located. But the contractor who made the roads seems to have bit the very hand that fed him. The roads in this sector look and feel straight out of a war zone, as if landmines have gone off on them.
Apart from the General Hospital, no less than eight government offices are located in the sector: the headquarters of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the head office of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vittaran Nigam (UHBVN), Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC), Director General Health Services (DGHS), Shakti Bhawan, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, State Vigilance Department, and Housing Board Haryana (Awas Bhawan).
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But the contractor who built the substandard roads seems to have been so confident that he could get away with his shoddy work, that even the presence of these offices did not act as a deterrent on him.
The roads now have craters so large that people who use them, such as the autorickshaw drivers who are regulars in the area, have in their own interests started filling them up with stones, so that their vehicles don’t fall in them.
Top officials who sit in these offices travel to work and back on the bumpy roads everyday, but are seemingly oblivious to the plight of those in lesser vehicles such two-wheelers and autorickshaws.
While the external main roads maintained by HUDA were recently repaired in a hurried manner before the Independence Day event, which is attended by the senior officers, the internal roads are shockingly poor for a city that wanted to be in the “smart” list.
The road leading from Sector 6-7 main road to General Hospital, Sector 6, is filled with large-sized and deep potholes. Two-wheelers have often been spotted getting stuck in these potholes.
“We have recently got re-carpeting of the internal roads on the premises of the General Hospital Sector 6 done. But the outer road leading to the hospital is in a bad shape. HUDA and the corporation should take it up,” said Civil Surgeon V K Bansal.
“Irrespective of location of government offices, big or small houses, Municipal Corporation and HUDA should ensure that the roads are maintained. The problem of bad roads is not limited to one sector, but is being faced by residents across Panchkula. However, in Sector 6, there are many government offices and the traffic is comparatively higher, so it requires better roads,” said Rajnish Garg, a resident.
Members of the Rashtriya Yuva Dal had recently painted the potholes on the roads with white and yellow paint, but the potholes are not yet repaired.
When contacted, Superintending Engineer (MC) Anil Mehta said, “We have started patch-work of external roads, and the work is in progress. But regarding the internal roads, which also includes the roads of Sector 6, tenders will be called this week, and the work of filling of potholes will begin soon. The condition of roads is dismal in all sectors; all roads will be repaired, as residents of all sectors have right to well-maintained roads. The work got delayed, because tenders had to be re-called, as the previous ones received poor response.”
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