Rains damage roads, quality of work under scanner

Intermittent rain over the past week has badly exposed the quality of roads in Amritsar. Roads that were dug up under the Amritsar Canal Water Supply Project and later patched have begun to sink, creating dangerous conditions for commuters. Several newly repaired stretches have caved in, especially in areas where water pipelines were laid and the roads were not properly compacted during repair. Even the newly carpeted roads, constructed with much publicity using Artificial Intelligence-based assistance, have not withstood the rain. The Municipal Corporation’s arrangements to prevent waterlogging have also failed once again, causing further damage to the roads.

In the Amritsar North Assembly constituency, roads that were recently repaired after laying underground pipes, have started to cave in. This includes roads that were repaired just three months back. Of the 25 km of roads dug up by the company, only 12 km have been repaired, and even that wasn’t done properly. The base layer under some roads was not adequately compacted, allowing rainwater to seep in and form potholes.

Some of the affected areas include Ranjit Avenue, Batala Road, Fatehgarh Churian Road and Majitha Road, where the surface has visibly sunk after the rains. The lack of proper compaction has led to potholes that pose a serious risk of accidents, especially at night or during heavy traffic.

At other places like Gumtala to Airport service lane, Meera Kot Chowk to Meera Kot village, Pannu Chowk to Bohdi Sahib Gurdwara Road, Kot Khalsa and Lahori Gate, the roads remain unrepaired even months after the pipeline work was completed. In some areas, it has been nearly a year since the water pipeline was laid, but no top layer (tarring) has been applied yet.

The road from Khazana Wala Gate to Lahori Gate remains dug up and unrepaired even a year after the installation of pipeline. Despite repeated complaints to L&T officials, the situation remains unchanged. The Bohdi Sahib Road is facing similar neglect, leaving residents to struggle with their daily commute, potholes and unsafe road conditions.

Residents are questioning both the L&T company responsible for the project and the Municipal Corporation, accusing them of negligence. People allege that poor material and a lack of quality checks during road repairs are causing widespread damage. “Why didn’t the MC ensure quality control during the repair work,” asked PC Sharma, an RTI activist.

Municipal officials now say that if L&T fails to fix the roads, the MC will do the repairs itself and recover the cost from the company. However, the locals are not convinced, as many areas still suffer due to unfinished road work.

Amritsar