VIJAYAWADA: Potholes developed on the 10.1 km Eluru Road stretch between Ramavarrapadu and Old Bus Stand have become a cause for concern for the commuters who take this route to reach their destinations. Shopkeepers and residents on this stretch are appealing to the officials concerned to come up with a permanent solution to relay the damaged road stretch for the benefit of commuters.
N Subramanyam, an auto driver, said that more than four-wheelers, it is the share auto drivers and two-wheelers who feel the heat while commuting on the Eluru Road. The situation gets worse during the peak hours of the day and we drive the vehicle carefully by taking zigzag turns in order to avoid potholes, which are becoming deeper day by day, he said, requesting the officials to take up repair works on a war footing.
A Kiran Kumar, who runs a grocery store on the stretch, said that the condition of road has turned from bad to worse in the recent weeks. “I have raised a complaint with the corporation officials during the Dial Your Commissioner programme. However, the officials stated that Eluru Road is being maintained by the R&B department and the issue will be taken to their notice for taking up repair works,” he said.
R&B deputy executive engineer P Radha Krishna told TNIE that the department is maintaining Mahatma Gandhi Road, Eluru Road, Ajit Singh Nagar-Nunna stretch and Chitti Nagar-Gollapudi Bypass Road stretch in the city. At several places, potholes were developed on the roads causing inconvenience to the motorists.
Taking a serious note of the issue, road relaying works commenced on Mahatma Gandhi Road stretch between Benz Circle and Kanaka Durga temple at an estimated cost of `3.35 crore. Works will be completed in the next couple of weeks, he said.When it comes to Eluru Road, the road relaying works on damaged portions will be taken up on the 5.3 km stretch between Mary Matha Church, Gunadala and Besant Road.
Tenders have been called for at an estimated cost of `1.75 crore. Already, the department has conducted a ground level survey on the proposed stretch and found several potholes developed between Machavaram Down and Seetharamapuram, while minor repairs will be carried out on the remaining stretch. Instructions will be given to the company, which wins the bid, to complete the repair works on Eluru Road within a couple of weeks, Radha Krishna informed.