Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Nov 21: Though Mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and his team always claim a lot of developments in the city, yet many roads and streets here are still in dilapidated condition even three years after the formation of the elected urban local body.
While the roads at Jain Bazar, Talab Tillo, Rajpura, Jail Road Ambphalla, Shakti Nagar and many other places in the city are in bad shape, the users of these roads and the residents at their adjoining areas have expressed resentment over the poor working of JMC in getting these roads repaired.
“We are eating dust as there was flood in the Nallah in our area which brought dirt on the road which the authorities have not cleared even after 2-3 months,” Amrish Raina, retired Chief Engineer living at Shakti Nagar along canal side said adding that fed up with all this he is now even planning to move to some clean place in the city.
He also said that Shakti Nagar road along canal side is broken since the work on road widening of Akhnoor road started and the Shakti Nagar road was being used as an alternate route without repairing it for potholes and dilapidated stretches.
“Dust flies in air and spoils many things in my shop whenever some vehicle passes through this road,” Anil Gupta (name changed)-a shopkeeper at Police Station Talab Tillo road said.
Similar were the views of other shopkeepers there.
A pit formed due to broken road in Rajpura near popular ‘Khu Wala Mandir’ in the Ward of JMC Mayor, Chander Mohan Gupta is also creating problems for the locals as water gets accumulated in it and passing of some vehicle splashes the same over passersby thereby spoiling their clothes.
Pradeep Kumar, 50, a shopkeeper near Khu Wala Mandir said that the pit is there for the last two years but no one has done anything to repair it and even the JMC Mayor has visited the place and had assured to get the road repaired soon but nothing has happened on ground so far.
Karam Vir Gupta, 65, in Vikas Nagar pointed towards the street near his home which was in very bad shape.
He said that they repeatedly brought the matter into the notice of concerned JMC Councillor but he paid no heed and the problem has been there for the last two years.
Yet another road at New Plot area was in very bad shape and the adjoining shops and residential houses claimed that the Councillor there paid no attention towards the issue despite bringing the same into his notice many times.
Jain Bazar road, in the heart of Jammu city has some stretches in bad shape making vehicles difficult to ply which triggers frequent traffic jams in the already congested bazaar.
“The road is in this shape for the last about eight months and the concerned Councillor is least bothered to correct it,” Diwakar, 35, a drug store owner in Jain Bazar said.
At many other places in the city roads were broken while laying sewerage pipeline but none has paid any attention to repair them.
When contacted JMC Mayor, Chander Mohan Gupta said, they are unabatedly constructing roads in the city but when specifically mentioned, he said that Shakti Nagar road along the canal side was constructed last year but it remains water logged which damages it again and again.
He informed that the road will be made cemented soon.
On Jain Bazar road, Gupta said that it has been included in smart city project and soon it will also be improved.
“If someone has any complaint of such type he should give it to us in written,” he maintained.
He claimed that Rajpura road was repaired last year but if rainy season has left some pits on it, they (JMC) will look into the matter.
The Mayor also said that tendering for repairing potholes on city roads has been done and work on that will start soon.
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