‘Cosmetic’ makeover of a few roads fails to appease Guwahatians

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: For the citizens of the largest city of Northeast India, makeovers to the city are not a new occurrence, especially when it is ahead of elections. The potholes are filled and the dividers and pavements are cleaned and repainted, but the same is just a cosmetic treatment and fails to remain intact for even a year.

A few days back a large number of roads were left in a pathetic condition owing to the work done by the Guwahati Jal Board and other agencies. This left the roads severely damaged, making it difficult for both people and vehicles to move on. Recently, however, some of the major roads of the city were repaired and the potholes were patched. These were the roads which saw the VIP VVIP movement while the rest of the roads, lanes and bylanes remained neglected.

Work on the water supply project as well as the expansion and clearing of drains is underway in several parts of the city and this has left these localities with deplorable road conditions. Locations like Hengrabari, Shantipur, Lal Ganesh, Athgaon and many more are suffering because of the road conditions. Similar problems have taken place in Patharquarry, Narengi, Panikhaiti etc because of the laying of the gas lines.

Even though some of the roads have been repaired by the concerned authority after the pipes were laid, several complaints have been raised regarding the quality of work done by the agencies responsible. Some have just been covered with soil and gravel while some others have not been leveled properly, increasing the risk of accidents. One must remember the incident wherein a school student was killed as she fell from the two-wheeler she was on and came under a school bus because of an uncovered pit.

Locals mentioned that the agencies do the initial part of the job very slowly but in the final part, they somehow manage the same and cover it as fast as possible, bypassing necessary regulations and increasing the risks manifold.

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