VIJAYAWADA: Slow progress of ongoing road repair works on the stretch between Gunadala and Sunnapubhatilu Center is causing hardships to motorists and pedestrians. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), in July, started re-carpeting of the stretch with an estimated `8 crore. This was aimed at easing traffic congestion on the national highway. However, delay in the works is subjecting the commuters to several problems.
B Joseph, a resident of Gunadala, said, “Vehicles get stuck in potholes developed on the stretch. Only two days ago, a biker slipped after colliding with a rock lying on one side of the road.” The damaged road not only disrupts the smooth flow of traffic, it is puts financial burden on commuters as they have to spend extra on maintenance of their vehicles, he stated, urging the civic body to take into account recent mishaps on this road and finish renovation works soon.
“It takes at least 30 minutes to cross the 2.7 km stretch between Gunadala and Sunnapubahtilu Center. Bad condition of the road forces the motorists to ride slowly in order to avoid damage to their vehicles,” Ambati Anand, who lives in the nearby Mythri Nagar, said. It is only after facing severe criticism from residents that the VMC had launched the roadwork, he said. “Even then the VMC has failed to complete the work in time.”
When contacted, a senior official of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) said that civic body had commenced the recarpeting work on the stretch in mid-July. “As of now, encroachments across the road stretch have been bulldozed and earth works are under progress. Meanwhile, the electricity department officials have started laying the underground cables on the stretch, which is causing a slight delay in the road works,” he said. When the works commenced by the electricity department get finished, the civic body will resume road repair and complete it by November, he added.