COIMBATORE: Residents of Balaji Garden alleged the roads in their area have been dilapidated for several years due to the negligence of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) officials. They also said that the ward councillor and civic body officials are biased towards them as they are fixing only certain roads in the ward and leaving out other areas.
Balaji Garden Road on the Subrmaniyampalayam in the GN Mills area comes under Ward 15 of the North Zone in the city. The Road is a vital pathway as it connects motorists from the Subrmaniyampalayam Main Road to several residential areas including Balaji Garden, Sakthi Avenue and Bagavthi Gardens.
D Suresh, a resident from Sakthi Avenue told TNIE, “The roads were dug up by the civic body officials several years ago to drinking water pipelines under the AMRUT scheme. It’s been more than two years now and still, the damaged road is not fixed by the civic body. They could’ve at least put some patches on the damaged portions if they can’t pave a new road. However, they’ve carried out patchwork on the damaged roads in the nearby Swathi Garden area which comes under the same ward. Both the councillor and officials are biased towards our area. The higher officials must step in and fix it immediately.”
When inquired about it, an official from CCMC’s engineering section said that the roads were not fixed as the civic body has planned to carry out UGD project works in the area and will be once again dug soon. However, refusing to comment about the patchwork carried out in the nearby area, the official added that they would put patches if the councillor allocates funds from her monthly Ward funds.Despite multiple attempts, Ward 15 councillor P Santhamani of INC refused to respond to TNIE’s calls.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC North Zone Chairperson V Kathirvelu said, “Ward 15’s Assistant Engineer (AE) was recently transferred and the new officer may not fully know the areas. Even though UGD project works are to be taken in several wards, broken roads need to be fixed. We shall ensure that the Balaji Garden Road is fixed as soon as possible.”