PUNE: The state public works department (PWD) has commenced the long pending work of tarring the 400-metre stretch of Shankar Sheth Road between Dhobi Ghat and Golibar Maidan Chowk.
It has also decided to tar the potholes on the Golibar Maidan Chowk in the next two days.
The Pune Cantonment Board had told the PWD last week that it would be responsible for any accident on the 400-metre stretch due to the delay in restoring it.
The repair work is crucial considering the daily movement of heavy vehicles, said PCB officials. TOI had highlighted the issue in several reports in the last two months.
Maithali Zanzarne, executive engineer, PWD, Pune division, told TOI, “We initiated the repair work on Monday. For the time being, we are doing the tarring work on the stretch and the Golibar Maidan Chowk. Because of rainfall, we could not initiate the resurfacing work.”
The PWD officials said that Rs32lakh has been sanctioned for resurfacing of the chowk and the patch. “The resurfacing work will commence in October. Nowadays, the city gets rainfall in the evening. So, it will not be appropriate to apply new layer of tar on the stretch and the chowk,” she added.
However, the cantonment officials said that the PWD authorities should have tarred the patch and the potholes at the junction before the monsoon.
“Unfortunately, commuters had to suffer due to the poor condition of the road during the peak monsoon months. The PWD authorities should have completed the work on a war footing considering the high volume of daily traffic. Also, it is a part of the Pune-Solapur highway. So, we usually see a huge number of heavy vehicles going to Gultekdi Marketyard,” said PCB chief executive officer Subrat Pal.
Meanwhile, commuters and residents said that both the authorities should work in tandem. “We fail to understand why they did not work together. Had they worked in tandem, commuters would not have suffered. The potholes were initially filled with red soil. But it soon came off during the first few spells of rain, exposing the potholes,” said Murtuza Poonawala, an activist.
It has also decided to tar the potholes on the Golibar Maidan Chowk in the next two days.
The Pune Cantonment Board had told the PWD last week that it would be responsible for any accident on the 400-metre stretch due to the delay in restoring it.
The repair work is crucial considering the daily movement of heavy vehicles, said PCB officials. TOI had highlighted the issue in several reports in the last two months.
Maithali Zanzarne, executive engineer, PWD, Pune division, told TOI, “We initiated the repair work on Monday. For the time being, we are doing the tarring work on the stretch and the Golibar Maidan Chowk. Because of rainfall, we could not initiate the resurfacing work.”
The PWD officials said that Rs32lakh has been sanctioned for resurfacing of the chowk and the patch. “The resurfacing work will commence in October. Nowadays, the city gets rainfall in the evening. So, it will not be appropriate to apply new layer of tar on the stretch and the chowk,” she added.
However, the cantonment officials said that the PWD authorities should have tarred the patch and the potholes at the junction before the monsoon.
“Unfortunately, commuters had to suffer due to the poor condition of the road during the peak monsoon months. The PWD authorities should have completed the work on a war footing considering the high volume of daily traffic. Also, it is a part of the Pune-Solapur highway. So, we usually see a huge number of heavy vehicles going to Gultekdi Marketyard,” said PCB chief executive officer Subrat Pal.
Meanwhile, commuters and residents said that both the authorities should work in tandem. “We fail to understand why they did not work together. Had they worked in tandem, commuters would not have suffered. The potholes were initially filled with red soil. But it soon came off during the first few spells of rain, exposing the potholes,” said Murtuza Poonawala, an activist.