JANGAON: Though it has been several months since the Jangaon municipality received an official green signal to take up restoration of damaged roads and beautification works under its limits, the local authorities have not been able to commence the works owing to fund crunch.
As a result of this, commuters and local residents are facing a lot of trouble while travelling through the roads under the municipality limits. According to sources, it is nothing less than a bone-rattling welcome that awaits the commuters who enter Warangal through National Highway (NH)-163. The return journey from the city is equally painful as most roads are pothole-ridden, causing severe inconvenience to motorists.
A major municipality in the erstwhile district, Jangaon has a total of 30 wards and a population of 60,000. The major roads under the municipality limits which require immediate attention are Yeshwanthpur-Pembarthi road, the road from Jangaon bus stand to Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) in Chempak Hills and the roads which connect Jangaon town main junction with the headquarters of Suryapet and Warangal districts. It has to be mentioned here that all these roads are connected with NH-163 as well.
According to sources, the district administration and the municipal authorities laid the foundation for taking up the restoration of damaged roads and beautification works in Jangaon a few months back, and had prepared an estimate of Rs 30 crore. However, they have not been able to take a single step in this regard as the State government has not released sufficient funds yet, as a result of which all proposed works are on hold.
When Express spoke to the municipal executive engineer and other civic officials, they admitted that works have been delayed due to the lack of funds. The government is yet to clear the pending bills that the contractor submitted for the previous works, they added. Meanwhile, they pointed out that the connection roads from the NH-163 fall under the jurisdiction of Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department and added that they have already sent proposals to the authorities concerned for taking up restoration and development works on these roads, at an estimated cost of `4 crore.
Speaking to Express, Ch Krian Kumar, a resident of Ganesh Street in the town, alleged that though local MLA Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy has been making tall claims that the State government is taking several steps for the development of the town, it is all talk and no action.
“Though the town is situated just 80 km away from Hyderabad, it has not witnessed any development yet, even after being carved out as a new district,” he alleged, and added that the local MLA has failed to get funds for development works from the State government. “We request the municipal officials to repair the roads immediately and ensure the safety of commuters,” he added.