Motorists hit out at GHMC inaction
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Sai Constructions, the contractor involved in construction of the Punjagutta road, had complained that storm water and sewerage water was leaking from some unidentified point beneath the road opposite Model House but it fell on deaf ears.
Even though the GHMC had taken up work on an old storm water drain near Model House just 15 days ago, it made no effort to investigate the points from where water was leaking. It just wanted to stop rain water from stagnating at Model House, for long periods.
It is because of this seepage problem that the contractor stopped the tunnelling work midway.
The drainage water was inundating even the pit that was dug up as an entry point to carry out the tunnelling work.
Citizens are fed up of the GHMC’s negligence and shoddy work. “Roads in the city are full of huge potholes. Garbage is not being lifted regularly, leading to breeding of mosquitoes.
The number of stray dogs is on the rise. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy should seriously take the GHMC officials to task,” complained K. Raghava, who commutes along Punjagutta Road daily. Other commuters, Suresh Kumar and Mohammed Adnan had similar complaints.
Shopowners along the road told this correspondent that the GHMC has not investigated the reasons for the collapse of the road in the six months since the first collapse.
They said the road was repaired by filling it with concrete and other material but the leaking pipeline was not identified or dealt with. The confusion is affecting their business, they say.
When contacted, Mr Sharath of Sai Constructions told this correspondent, “I have written letters to GHMC officials that drain water was inundating even the tunnelling pit and our workers were refusing to work in the dirt.”
The GHMC spoke in different voices. Its chief engineer K. Suresh said they were trying to find the reasons for the road caving in, while engineer-in-chief R. Dhan Singh blamed the contractor and said he was issuing notices to the contractor to complete the work and that he would be penalised.
The GHMC commissioner, who visited the spot, also said action will be taken against the contractor.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) C.V. Anand wants the repair work to be completed by Monday if complete chaos is not to rule on this very high-density corridor.
“Fortunately, tomorrow is a Second Saturday, followed by Sunday when vehicular traffic is comparatively less,” he said.
Mr Dhan Singh did not commit to a deadline, saying the cause of the collapse had to first be ascertained.
In early February, the road had collapsed at almost the identical spot. Last month, a road at Madhuranagar near Ameerpet had caved in. Last year, the slab of a major drain had caved in near Fever Hospital.
Clearly there's something very wrong with the GHMC's repair and maintenance work and blaming contractors won't wash since the civic body should be overseeing the work they do.
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