GHAZIABAD: A dusty road kicks up not only health hazards for its takers, but also traffic chaos for them to navigate every day. Thousands of residents of Nandgram, a colony in Ghaziabad district, live in flats in the area.
A 700-meter road which leads towards Meerut is their lifeline. It’s the key route to their workplaces, markets, schools, medical facilities and their way out of the city.
Yet, it appears to be withering away. It began in 2019, when a large water pipeline was laid by the civic authority. Since then, there have been at least two more rounds of construction, according to officials. Residents say it was never fully repaired, with just soil and ballast left behind to leave behind a semblance of a path. “People cover their faces while going out. The uneven roads are a serious safety and health concern. The stretches not only have potholes but layers of dust.
Senior citizens and children are badly affected. Now that schools have started, the problem has only worsened. Accidents are a daily occurrence,” said Vikrant Pandit, a resident. Another local Zeeshan Mirza told TOI: “There is a traffic jam on this broken road every day, especially on day a Friday market is held. It needs immediate attention as lakhs of families are living here.”
Officials of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, responsible for construction of the road, said there have been several hold-ups, including the pandemic and a model code of conduct in place since January this year for the Municipal Legislative Commission election in the district.
“The restoration work is going to be done by the Nagar Nigam but it cannot be done immediately. We had started the work earlier but we cannot work on it now because the MCC is on till April 15,” said Mahendra Singh Tanwar, civic commissioner.
