DHARMAPURI: Residents of ward 32 and 33 in Annasagaram are aggrieved by the municipality's efforts to construct a poor-quality road which was broken for the UGD works. Residents stated, "The contractors are merely dropping cement and sand, with no proper gravel to hold the road. Such construction would break apart in a matter of days."
The Dharmapuri Municipality is involved with the construction of Phase 2 of the UGD project, attempting to bring in the sewage lines in the remaining 14 wards for Rs 82 crores. As part of this, the roads in wards 32 and 33, located between Madhurabhai hall and the Annasagaram is currently dug out, pipes laid and closed down. The contractors had also attempted to construct the roads, but the residents of Annasagaram had stopped the construction after witnessing poor work quality.
S Gopal from Annasagaram told TNIE, "The contractors involved with the construction of the UGD are attempting to construct a cement road. But the nature of the works is so poor that we had no choice but to intervene. Usually, cement roads require an even surface, and cement is mixed with gravel and sand. But here, just wet cement is cropped on the uneven roads. The roads would wear off in days. Why waste such funds? So, we stopped the construction."
Another resident, B Anbarasan, said, "They are not constructing a road, they are doing patchwork on roads which were dug out for UGD. A most unstable patchwork, which would break the moment someone steps on it. It is just a waste of resources, fund and time. We seek the administration to intervene and look into the quality of the work. Further, during the UGD construction, water connections to 30 houses were disconnected. So even if proper roads are laid, the roads would be broken within weeks for the pipeline connection. Poor planning and negligence are the problems here."
When TNIE reached out to officials in the municipality, they said inspection will be conducted, and if lapses are found, action will be taken against the contractors.