Road dug to fix water line lies damaged after a year

Officials from Hansraj College said that they have written letters to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Public Works Department (PWD) this year to repair the road and clean the surroundings, but in vain.

An unrepaired patch of road along the Mahatma Hans Raj Marg in north Delhi’s Maurice Nagar, has left the residents and commuters struggling as dust, accidents, and traffic snarls have become a common feature along this road, residents claimed.

The unrepaired road in front of the college. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

The road was dug about a year ago by the Delhi Jal Board for the repair work of a water pipeline for the Chandrawal water plant, and has not yet been relaid back to normal. “The entire stretch along the campus of Hansraj college is still damaged today. Naturally, it creates a lot of dust and an unhygienic surrounding for students,” an official from Hansraj College said.

Officials from Hansraj College said that they have written letters to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Public Works Department (PWD) this year to repair the road and clean the surroundings, but in vain.

The Hans Raj Marg, on the other side, stretches into the Kamla Nagar market through the Roshanara Road. The DJB is still continuing work at the end of Roshanara Road.

Rahul Kumar, 20, a fruit vendor at the point where the University Road begins, said, “We have heard that it will take at least one more year for the government to repair the road. There is so much dust, and we have seen so many accidents along this road.”

Several stalls for fruit juice, snacks and tea have been set up on the damaged side of the road because it is only being used as a parking area now. “This is a two-way road but since half the width of the road is closed, there are a lot of accidents here. During the monsoon, the condition was bad, and I remember we had to rush a biker to the hospital,” Rakesh Shah, a 31-year-old resident of Majnu Ka Tilla.

Ashok (goes by first name), another auto-driver and a regular commuter on the road, said that driving along the road is now a nightmare. “It has been at least seven months now that I have been seeing this condition of the road. Rain makes the condition worse but then in winter there is so much dust,” he said.

Surbhi (goes by first name), a first year BCom Honours student in DU, said, “I live just opposite the clock tower and this stretch is constantly congested and dirty. The dust is unbearable, especially during this season when pollution is already so bad. The little space that pedestrians get to walk on is not enough, especially because bikes keep trying to drive on the side path due to the traffic.”

“During the DU students’ union elections in September, CM Atishi and AAP leader Kejriwal visited the college and we had requested them to look into it. Following that, the road was partially flattened out, reducing chances of accident but it was not repaired which still contributes to the dust problem,” a college official complained.

DJB officials did not respond to HT’s request for a comment on the road repair.