PONDA: Ponda locals on Thursday demanded that the PWD should immediately take action against the contractor for not completing the market main road.
The recent patchwork done on the roads at several places has irked the Pondaites and blamed the PWD for playing the role of mere spectator while the commuters are forced to travel on the dilapidated roads.
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Locals want the PWD to take immediate action against the contractor for not completing the road work, which started two years back.
They are worried because the government is not hot-mixing the market road that has been in the worst condition for the past four years on account of sewage line digging work.
The work on sewerage chambers was completed long back and even the PWD had issued a tender for hot-mix carpeting in 2020. However, the delay was on the part of the contractor in executing the work even after getting the work order.
When enquired with the Ponda PWD office official why the work is not executed despite the work order issued, he said, “The tender for hot-mix carpeting from market to Varkhande was issued long back in 2019. However, the contractor only executed part of the work order and failed to complete the remaining work till today i.e from market road to Varkhande. The department had issued the contractor notice to clarify.”
On patchwork, the official clarified that since people were facing hardship on the market road, the PWD had covered some potholes by taking up patchwork. The official blamed the contractor for the delay in work.
He said, “The department has issued a show-cause notice to the contractor for the long delay in execution of work.”
The contractor blamed the PWD for the delay in work.
In his reply to PWD’s showcase notice, he said in the past, the PWD had cleared his bills of some work almost after one and half years and in the case of the market road he is ready to execute the work now within a few days but the PWD should clear the bill within six months.
Ponda local Viraj Sapre said, “The PWD and local MLA Ravi Naik should find an urgent solution to the problem. Why people should suffer due to bad roads just because of a delay on the part of the contractor in executing work. The PWD and contractor should settle their issues if any immediately.”
He said, “Pondaites deserve good roads and this place is a market area, it is mostly used by the locals. Both the PWD and contractor are responsible for delay in work and the department should take proper action into this matter so that the people are not forced to face hardship.”
