Cash starved corporation using soil to fill up potholes

Used of soil, debris increasing dust

Aurangabad, Aug 16:

Major roads in the city have developed several potholes due to rains. The municipal corporation already facing severe financial crunch has started covering the potholes using soil and debris waste. This experiment has increased the amount of dust on the roads.

The corporation was claiming to build roads from funds of Rs 317 crores from the Smart City mission and Rs 200 crores from municipal funds. However, roads of Rs 80 crore were approved by the smart city. Currently, no road will be built from municipal funds as the coffers of the corporation are empty. The Ganeshotsav is just a few days away, however no patch work has been carried out on the roads using cement or tar. The ward officials have not started using soil and debris to fill up the potholes. Potholes are being filled with soil from Labor Colony on Wednesday. It is being told by the municipal officials that we are using debris waste and not soil. Every year in the budget, funds of Rs 40 to 50 lakh are given to the ward offices only for filling up the potholes. However, the funds are spent on debris and soil.

No use of tar

Until now, the corporation used asphalt to fill potholes. A patchwork once done lasted for at least a few years. Soil is washed away in a few days. The officials also used cement ready mix material to fill potholes on asphalt roads. This experiment also failed.