COIMBATORE: The 1.8 km long Diwan Bahadur (DB) Road in RS Puram was converted into a model road by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) under the Smart City Project at a cost of about Rs 25 crore in 2021. However several decorative tiles that were pasted on the pavements and at the road intersection have been damaged.
The CCMC said workers of a private firm that is working on the 24x7 water supply project damaged it during pipeline installation work.
Pedestrians used to walk on the 1-metre-wide stormwater drains. Under the smart city project, the CCMC extended it by 4 metres on both sides. Tiles and stones were paved on the pedestrian pathways, parking bays and road intersections.
Recently, several stretches of the pavement and the tiles have become damaged. Pedestrians and motorists have demanded the civic body to fix the issue.
“The irregularly laid and broken stone pavements especially on the intersections are giving us a hard time. Instead of such substandard materials and work, the civic body should have laid regular tar surfaces at intersections,” said K Gowtham, a resident of RS Puram.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from the engineering section of the CCMC said, “There are no issues with the quality of materials used or the work done by the civic body. Everything was fine until workers of the firm working on the 24x7 water supply project dug up the road for installing pipelines. After completing their work, the workers failed to properly close the road and relay the tiles. As a result, the pavements have become damaged. We will restore them soon.”