NEW DELHI: A latest status report has revealed that potholes and street light problems are the top complaints on roads coming under jurisdiction of Public Works Department (PWD) in the national capital. The agency has received more than 1,000 complaints related to roads, streetlights and potholes.
Under the category of ‘potholes,’ a total of 241 complaints were received during the two months, of which 189 were pending, while the rest were resolved.
In the past 10 months, the Delhi government has claimed to have repaired over 3,000 potholes, with the government terming it a “commitment to ending the cycle of delays and excuses.”
A PWD official said, “These are routine complaints received from the public. As soon as we receive complaints related to roads and streetlights, such as potholes, missing lights, damaged bulbs and poles, the department responds immediately and fixes them within two to three days.”
The roads that are found to be in very poor conditions and where potholes develop frequently are placed on a list for complete repair and re-carpeting as a permanent solution, which will commence soon, as the air pollution situation becomes better, the official said.
The Delhi government has set a target to repair arterial roads across the city by the end of this financial year, under which it aims to cover broken patches and potholes, increase plantation on central verges and ensure proper landscaping to reduce dust on roads.
The data also shows that the department received a total of 265 complaints related to streetlights, including missing lights, dark spots and damaged poles. Of these, the PWD has yet to address 165 complaints.
Just recently, the department had announced that the government is planning to replace all conventional yellow lights installed on PWD roads with smart LED lights to save energy and implement a cost-effective plan to eliminate dark spots.
There are around 90,000 streetlights across the city, maintained by the PWD. Additionally, the department maintains about 1,400 km of main arterial roads, flyovers and underpasses across the national capital.