VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday directed the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department officials to take up repairs of roads on a war-footing. The potholes on roads should be filled and the repairs of roads that need immediate attention should be taken up first after inviting tenders, he said.
The Chief Minister held a review meeting with the R&B officials and the faculty of IIT Tirupati and SRM University at the State Secretariat and took stock of the situation of roads in the State.
The meeting discussed adoption of the latest technology for the construction of roads of high quality standards with minimum expenditure. Use of various kinds of material for the construction of roads, which can last long, particularly in heavy traffic areas, was also discussed at the meeting.
The officials informed Naidu that potholes were not filled in a full-fledged manner during the previous YSRC regime, and the pending bills of contractors were also not cleared. Due to non-clearance of pending bills, the contractors did not come forward to take up the road repair works, they said.
The officials also revealed that a minimum of `300 crore is needed to fill the potholes on the roads across the State. A total extent of 4,151 km roads developed potholes, and 2,939 km long roads need immediate repairs, they informed.
Minister for Roads and Buildings BC Janardhan Reddy and other officials attended the meeting.
Naidu’s gesture
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was on his way to the State Secretariat from his Undavalli residence on Friday, stopped his convoy after observing the people standing on the river bund (Karakatta), and received representations from them. He interacted with the people, and promised to resolve their grievances at the earliest. They expressed their happiness that Naidu stopped his convoy and received their petitions