Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The municipal corporation has constructed a large number of cement roads in the city, therefore, tar roads have become rare. In the meantime, the civic body has decided to spend Rs 1.60 crore to purchase a machine for filling potholes on tar roads. The officers even visited Ahmedabad to inspect the machine. The company claims that the patch filled by this machine will last for five long years.
The municipal corporation has already used Rs 275 crore from the state government’s special fund to develop the main roads with cement. Later on, through the Smart City project, Rs 317 crore was spent to construct 111 roads, while Rs 100 crore has been allocated to construct cement roads using municipal funds. Nearly Rs 1,000 crore has been spent on cement roads. While the main roads have been cemented, most of the internal roads in various wards are also now cemented. As a result, tar roads have become scarce.
During Ganeshotsav, contractors are unwilling to fill potholes on the few remaining tar roads, as the old tar contractors have shut down their plants and switched to cement. In this situation, the civic administration has decided to purchase a machine for Rs. 1.60 crore to fill potholes on tar roads. The machine’s unique feature is that it first removes dust from the pothole using air pressure. Then, a cold mix of tar and gravel is placed, and the roller is used for compaction. The company claims that once a pothole is filled, there is no need for repairs for the next five years.
Inspection by Officials
Executive Engineer of the Mechanical section, Amol Kulkarni, said, “ The PPS Infrastructure Company from Delhi, along with other companies, has developed this advanced machine. It is already being used in various cities across the country, including Ahmedabad and Surat. Accordingly, City Engineer A B Deshmukh, Executive Engineer B D Phad, and I inspected the machine. As per the instructions of administrator G Sreekanth, a proposal for purchasing this machine will be prepared soon.”