Residents up in arms as newly constructed road gives way

Residents of the Khankot area near Garden Enclave are up in arms after a new road, constructed barely two months back, developed large potholes and begun to sink, raising serious concerns about the quality of construction. The damaged road has triggered strong resentment among locals who are now demanding strict action against the contractor and municipal officials under whose supervision it was constructed.

Local residents revealed that three roads in the area had been dug up earlier for the installation of sewerage pipelines. However, during the municipal elections, only one road was repaired with a superficial layer of gravel and tar, while the other two were neglected.

Now, just weeks after its completion, the condition of even this road has started to deteriorate, sinking at several places and developing dangerous potholes. Residents have appealed to the administration for immediate reconstruction of all the roads in the area to ease commuting challenges faced by people from the three surrounding villages.

Ironically, theses roads were recarpeted after an AI-enabled survey of roads, conducted on the orders of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

Junior Engineer in the Municipal Corporation Rajesh Sharma stated that the contractor attributed the damage to the underlying sewerage work. However, he clarified that the sewerage line is quite deep and the real issue lies in poor roadwork. “The gravel base was not compacted properly during construction, which has led to the road surface giving way,” he admitted.

Locals are now waiting to see if the administration will take swift action to address the issue and ensure accountability in public infrastructure projects.

Amritsar