Potholes, uneven patches: Commuters face a bumpy ride on Akshardham Flyover, Noida-Link Road

The Indian Express travelled on the stretch to and from Noida Sector 16 to ITO and found that the ride was smooth till the Noida link road, after which it got bumpy. The situation was worse on Akshardham road, near the temple, where both vehicular traffic as well as pedestrian footfall is high.

ADCHINI

Till the flyover, the road has many potholes — some were filled unevenly, making it worse.

On the Akshardham flyover, there were 2-3 inch gaps on the surface, the central verge was broken and the railings were also in bad shape.

A little further, the road branches off — one side goes towards Geeta Colony and the left side connects Vikas Marg to ITO and Delhi Secretariat. On both sides of the road, the carpeting had peeled off and the concrete surface below was clearly visible.

According to PWD officials, the department handed over charge of the Akshardham-Noida-Link road to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in June last year.

When contacted, a senior NHAI official said, “We took the road from the PWD last year as this stretch will become a part of the upcoming Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. It will connect directly to the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. The road is in poor condition and a few months back, we had repaired potholes.”

PATPARGANJ

The official added, “As the stretch will soon become part of the expressway, we thought of redeveloping the entire stretch in one go, but after receiving several complaints from commuters, repairs will be taken up soon.”

The NHAI has now floated tenders for repairs. “Work will start soon and repairs will be completed before the G-20 Summit in September,” said the NHAI official.

Similar story in several areas

The stretch from Vikas Marg towards ITO and Delhi Secretariat is in poor condition, with the pedestrian path and cycle track fully broken.

PWD officials said, “We are repairing the central verge under the streetscaping project. We have already redeveloped a portion near Raj Ghat, the same will be replicated here. The cycle track and footpath are in poor shape as motorists keep using it. We will repair it soon.”

Roads in several other parts of the city — Adchini, Hauz Khas, Aurobindo Marg, Patparganj, Mayur Vihar Phase 1 and near Laxmi Nagar — are also riddled with potholes or are undergoing work. At IIT Gate, work to lay a drainage line is in progress.

HAUZ KHAS

A senior official who looks after East Delhi roads said, “Delhi Jal Board work to lay a pipeline is going on near Mayur Vihar Pocket -1. They informed us about it last month. Once it is done, we will repair the road. Similarly, the Patparganj stretch near Narwana road is part of the streetscaping project. If we find potholes on the main road, or if we receive complaints, we will repair them.”

Officials in the South Road division blamed other agencies for potholes and poor infrastructure.

“Potholes have been developed as road repair work is underway. Once it is done, the entire stretch will be repaired,” said an official.