In what residents have termed a glaring example of poor planning and wastage of taxpayers’ money, several newly-constructed roads in Ludhiana are once again being dug up for laying pipelines under the World Bank-funded 24×7 canal-based water supply project.
The latest controversy has surfaced in Sarabha Nagar’s J-Block area, where a recently recarpeted road has been excavated again for sewer and water pipeline works, triggering sharp criticism from residents, activists and opposition leaders over the lack of coordination between different wings of the municipal corporation and government departments.
Ironically, the roads had been repaired and recarpeted only a few months ago after being damaged during the rainy season. Residents alleged that crores of rupees were being spent repeatedly on the same stretches while several other city roads continued to remain broken and neglected.
Area resident Dalbir Singh alleged that the civic body had failed to ensure proper planning before undertaking road construction works. “This is the fourth time in four years that the J-Block road is being rebuilt. If pipeline work was already planned, there was no need to spend lakhs on fresh carpeting. Patchwork could have been done temporarily,” he said.
He further pointed out that the road near Deepak Hospital had also been reconstructed twice and may again face digging for pipeline work. Similar complaints have surfaced from Pakhowal Road near the indoor stadium, Jassian Road, Ghumar Mandi, Rishi Nagar and several other localities, where roads dug for pipeline installation remain unrepaired for months.
Under the canal-based water supply project, private companies executing the work were reportedly required to restore roads within 20 days of laying pipelines. However, several stretches across the city continue to remain damaged, causing inconvenience to commuters and residents.
Social activist and a resident of Gurdev Nagar Ravinder Pal Singh Ghai also raised serious concerns over repeated digging of newly-constructed roads in the Durga Mata Mandir area of Sarabha Nagar. He alleged that the repeated excavation reflected administrative negligence and lack of coordination among civic agencies.
Ghai claimed that a similar attempt was earlier made to dig the road going towards Hambran Road from Saggu Chowk, but the work was reportedly halted following public objections. “If roads were already earmarked for pipeline installation, why was public money spent on fresh carpeting? This reflects serious mismanagement,” he said.
Demanding a high-level inquiry, Ghai sought suspension of officials responsible for negligence, blacklisting of contractors involved in irregularities and recovery of financial losses from accountable parties. He also demanded a vigilance probe into the project and said complaints had been submitted to the Director, Local Bodies, Chief Minister’s Office, Vigilance Department and Deputy Commissioner.
Residents alleged that broken roads, dust pollution and traffic chaos had become a daily problem in areas affected by the project. Many expressed concern that with the monsoon approaching, damaged stretches could pose a serious risk to commuters and further deteriorate.
Responding to the allegations, MC Superintending Engineer Parul Goyal said the B&R Department had not informed the MC in advance regarding certain road works. “Repair of the remaining roads will be completed by June 30,” she said.
However, residents questioned why basic inter-department coordination was still missing despite repeated controversies over the same issue in the past.
