‘Pothole-free Delhi by Diwali’: CM Atishi directs official to repair roads on war footing

PTI, Oct 1, 2024, 8:07 PM IST

Credit IANS / File

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and cabinet ministers inspected roads in different parts of the city on Tuesday to ensure a pothole-free national capital by Diwali.

Atishi inspected Ring Road at Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin railway station road, DND Ashram Road stretch, Moolchand underpass and August Kranti Marg on the second day of pothole-free campaign. She was accompanied by local MLA Praveen Kumar.

The chief minister, in a post on X, said the BJP’s “conspiracy” to stop the work being done for Delhiites by putting her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal in jail has failed.

“Under the guidance of Kejriwal, the Delhi cabinet and AAP MLAs are inspecting PWD roads to make them pothole-free,” Atishi said.

“In this sequence, (I) inspected Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin, Nehru Vihar Flyover, Moolchand Underpass, August Kranti Marg on Ring Road today along with officials,” she added.

Atishi said the stretch between Ring Road and Nizamuddin Railway Station is in a dilapidated condition. There are big potholes on the road due to which commuters face difficulty in travelling.

This road was handed over to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) during the construction of the Rapid Rail station. Instructions have been issued to PWD officials to coordinate with the NCRTC and repair this road soon, she said.

In another post, the chief minister said the Moolchand underpass road is also in a dilapidated condition. Potholes have formed on the road due to stagnant water. Officials have been instructed to repair the entire underpass road within a week.

According to an official statement, at many places, roads were dug to lay pipelines or electricity wires but they have not been repaired. There are potholes on the roads at many places.

Due to this, there is traffic on the roads and people have to face problems. The chief minister has instructed the officials to repair all the roads on a war footing so that people can get better roads, it said.

Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia inspected the roads in C R Park and the Alaknanda area and directed the officials to repair them.

“Delhi will now be pothole-free very soon. On Monday, many potholes were found on the road, today it has been repaired properly. A little work is still left. It will be done by tonight. The entire government is in active mode at this time and Arvind Kejriwal is keeping an eye on it. His instructions to the CM, all ministers and MLAs are to make the entire Delhi pothole-free,” Sisodia said.

In a post on X, Sisodia said the impact of Kejriwal’s mission to make Delhi’s roads pothole-free is now visible.

“The entire PWD system has become active. Work is being done immediately in areas that can be repaired through routine maintenance and the tender process has started for those areas where the entire road needs to be rebuilt,” he said.

Minister Gopal Rai inspected the roads in northeast Delhi’s Gokulpuri area.

“Today, we are inspecting Loni Road in northeast Delhi. Here on the Delhi-UP border, the condition of the road is very bad, it has many potholes,” he said in a post on X.

“We have instructed PWD officials to fix it on priority so that people do not face any kind of problem. I hope that the work of repairing roads and constructing new ones will be completed before Diwali,” Rai added.

Minister Kailash Gahlot, through a post on X, informed the residents that he inspected Mahipalpur-Mehrauli road, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg and Nelson Mandela road along with senior PWD officials and MLAs.

During the inspection, he instructed the PWD officials to repair the roads as soon as possible.

Minister Imran Hussain also inspected Kodia Bridge, SP Mukherjee Marg, Old Delhi Railway Station Road, Novelty Cinema, Mori Gate Railway Bridge and Mori Gate Main Chowk and directed the officials to repair them.

Meanwhile, Delhi Minister Mukesh Ahlawat inspected Kanjhawala Road around 6 am.

Atishi and her ministers had visited different areas of the city on Monday to identify damaged roads.

On Sunday, the chief minister held a meeting to review the condition of roads in the city and said that all ministers would inspect roads in designated areas for a week to identify those in need of repair.

After the inspection, repair work will be started and all roads are expected to be pothole-free by the end of October, she had said.