GUWAHATI: The state government spends crores of rupees for the construction of new roads and bridges, but that should be at the cost of timely repair of numerous roads that remain unattended for years. These categories of roads may be in Guwahati, Goalpara, or any other place in the state, say Hajo.
Keeping a close watch on the state of roads, including their non-repair, is not feasible for the minister of the department concerned or the chief engineer. This responsibility lies with field officers, who, however, can do precious little if the funds from the department concerned do not flow.
For instance, the Zoo-Narengi-Mother Teresa Road, the road near Guwahati Refinery, VIP Road, Jonai Market-SDO Road, roads in No. 33 and No. 20 Gaon Panchayat roads in Dharampur LAC, Khalisabhita-Lakhipur Road, Golaghat-Merapani Road, etc., have been lying without repair for a long time. Big craters on these roads give users, including school-going children, a harrowing experience.
Apart from these, the flyover on Barpeta Road has not been completed in the past five years. The wooden bridge at No. 2 Jogipara under Boko LAC is a creaky structure that has been in non-repair for four to five years. PWD maintains some of these roads, and Gaon panchayats also maintain some of them.
According to official sources, the fund flow for the repair of roads is not continuous. This aside, monitoring of the roads and consequent correspondence with higher-ups in the department are below par. This leads to the situation that a road that can be repaired with less cost takes a huge amount of money for not being repaired in time.
The government needs to devise a mechanism that can ensure timely repair of roads, bridges, culverts, or anything of that sort so as to relieve the users from their plights.
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