The extended monsoon has not been kind on roads in the city. While potholes have formed on most roads, in some places parts of the road have been washed away. The Corporation has a tough task ahead in repairing roads under its control, and it has now decided to spend Rs.5 crore from its own funds for the purpose.
V.S. Padmakumar, chairperson of the Corporation’s Works standing committee, said the civic body had requested for financial aid from the State government, but with no response coming forth had opted to dig deep into its own funds.
Plea to government“Most of the roads across the city are in a bad condition and not even motorable. Considering this, we had requested the State government for flood relief to the tune of Rs.10 crore. This was as per a unanimous decision of the Corporation council, but the government has till date not responded to our request. So, we decided to proceed on our own,” Mr. Padmakumar told The Hindu .
EstimatesThe civic body has directed the officials concerned to prepare an estimate of the work to be carried out. The total allocated amount of Rs.5 crore will be equally divided among the 100 wards, each getting Rs.5 lakh. The work is scheduled to be completed on an urgent basis, before October 15.
“The estimates from half the wards have been received, and the rest of them have been asked to submit it by Monday. Once all of it is collated, the work will take off soon,” he said.
Also part of the plan is a new experiment in a few byroads where there is frequent water-logging. Instead of the usual tar or concrete, the plan is to use interlocking tiles.
“The first of the roads is almost ready, near Government School, Manacaud. In addition, the appearance also improves,” Mr. Padmakumar said.
