Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Public Works Department (PWD) has recently taken action to address the problem of road deterioration.
According to information, the PWD is focusing on replacing damaged asphalt roads with cement concrete ones. There are 268 PWD roads in Bhopal with a total length of 573 km. Of these, 400 km are under performance guarantee and 173 km are under regular maintenance. During the recent rains, potholes were discovered on 22 km of 14 roads and are currently being repaired.
Chief Engineer RK Mehra explained that most of the roads are asphalted and get damaged during heavy rains due to lack of drainage. During the rainy season, complete repairs are not possible but potholes are currently being patched to make driving easier.
Chief Engineer Sanjay Maske noted that there are fewer roads for PWD as compared to the over 4,000 km of civic roads which are in a worse condition due to the rains. Some roads with potholes have been repaired with pavers.
To improve repair efficiency, the PWD has launched the Lok Path mobile app that allows users to upload photos of potholes and file complaints. So far, 1,868 complaints have been received, of which 1,662 have been resolved. The department has adopted advanced techniques such as jet patching and infrared technology for road maintenance and plans to use white topping to prevent common damage in urban areas.
PWD Minister Rakesh Singh has assessed the damage and directed officials to undertake a week-long repair campaign of roads, shoulders and bridges. He also stressed that engineers must confirm that all repairable roads in their areas have been repaired.
