‘Roads damaged by rains to be repaired in 3 mths’

Ghaziabad: Roads in the city are set for an overhaul as the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) has launched a mega project that will see the civic body spending nearly Rs 25 crore in the next three months.
Some Rs 242 crore has been made available to the GMC under the 15th Finance Commission, of which Rs 25 crore will be spent on roads, officials said.
In the first phase, the stretches that are to be revamped are Brij Vihar, Shahibabad, Shalimar Garden, Lajpat Nagar, Vaishali and Vasundhara in trans-Hindon areas. In cis-Hindon areas, GMC has selected Kavinagar, Nahru Nagar, Patel Nagar and Vijaynagar.
“Prolonged rain over the past few days has damaged several city roads, leading to waterlogging and consequent traffic jams at many places. In view of this, we have decided to embark on a project under which 75km of roads in the municipality area will be revamped,” said GMC chief Mahendra Singh Tanwar.
The overhaul of roads would include road repairs, construction of the central verge, planting of trees and lighting. “We plan to start work after the rain subsides and work will be completed in three months before winter sets in. We have earmarked Rs 25 crore of the Rs 241 crore allocated to us,” said Tanwar.
Road dust has emerged as a major source of pollution in the city and during winter, it gets more acute.
“Last year, the UP Pollution Control Board carried out a survey of the city, in which Indirapuram’s CISF road was rated the worst polluted stretches in Ghaziabad. Based on that report, we have selected 17 spots in the city with maximum dust pollution,” the commissioner said.
“We aim to use perforated tiles in these areas. Part of the work will also include planting plants on the central verge of the roads to control dust pollution,” he added.
Santosh Singh, a resident of Indirapuram’s Ahmisa Khand 2, said, “It has been more than 18 months since the pothole-ridden roads in Ahisma Khand 2 have not been attended to. In the past, all we have received is empty promises. Hope this time around, the GMC will carry out repair work,” said Santosh Singh, a resident.