New roads are being laid at all corners of the locality on a frantic pace, the work for which started earlier this year. But residents are not happy as the roads are allegedly not laid using quality materials.
“Contract workers came to the neighbourhood to mill the roads in January. Once they milled the roads, they did not turn up until a month later. By that time, many motorists had fallen down, tyres got punctured and nobody could be blamed,” said Gayathri, a resident of Ambattur.
“It is the same at Venkatapuram as well. The roads were laid only a month after milling was done. Further, there were no details kept at the spot about the contractor or the contact number. It is always the case,” pitched in Uma, who was nearby.
Residents claim that contractors, in a bid to save costs, use the same milled road material to re-lay the new roads. “If that is pathetic, a new road needs only be 40mm in height. But no rules are being followed,” they said.
“It is the authorities who need to ensure that contractors are doing a proper job. But because the roads being laid during night, it is impossible to see officials at site. Further, what is the point in inspecting something after it had been done? If wrong, the work needs to be done from scratch. That is not acceptable. Public money is going down the drain,” added Gayathri.
Residents also claimed that officials turn a blind eye even when complained. “We suspect they are not taking any action because the elections are nearing. Hopefully they will take proper action after the polls. Let us see,” they said.
“One more thing. The roads, because they are laid using not-so-good materials, get damaged very soon. Also, when the roads are laid, the height increases. The lid of sewer drains are not raised to the same height as the road. So, there is a pothole in the middle of a newly laid road. That is how things are in the neighbourhood,” declared Uma.