Over 70% of the planned road recarpeting work in Chandigarh remains pending due to a severe shortage of bitumen, a situation aggravated by the onset of the monsoon season, which makes resumption unlikely in the near term. The crisis was highlighted during the Municipal Corporation (MC) General House meeting on Monday, where councillors expressed frustration over the stalled work that has left city roads riddled with potholes.
Mayor's assurances fail to address ground realities
Mayor Saurabh Joshi had earlier stated that he directed contractors and officials to explore all possible alternatives for procuring bitumen and ensure uninterrupted execution of work. However, the ground reality differs sharply, as the supply chain remains disrupted. MC officials acknowledged that the bitumen shortage stems from the ongoing US-Iran war, which has affected imports and supplies from public sector oil companies on which the MC is entirely dependent.
MC Commissioner Amit Kumar assured councillors during the meeting that all steps would be taken to procure bitumen, but no concrete timeline was provided for resumption of work.
Councillors demand immediate patch work
Raising the issue, AAP councillor Anju Katyal stated that road recarpeting had not started even though tenders were floated. She emphasized that Chandigarh residents should not suffer due to supply-related challenges and suggested that the MC could initiate patch work until bitumen supply is restored. Former Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty also noted that recarpeting work was pending in his area, reflecting the widespread nature of the problem.
Ex-Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla pointed out that while the financial crisis that had plagued the MC in previous years was now resolved and tenders had been floated, the bitumen shortage had halted progress. She added that roads in villages and colonies are also in poor condition.
Monsoon exposes MC's lack of preparedness
The situation is compounded by the MC's inadequate monsoon readiness. Recent rains on Wednesday led to waterlogging on roads at multiple locations, causing inconvenience to commuters. The MC has cleaned only 74% of storm water inlets before the monsoon — just 22,696 out of 30,453 road gullies have been cleared so far. MC officials assured that all gullies would be cleaned by next week, but residents remain skeptical.
Last year, monsoon rains had battered city roads, causing cave-ins at many places that turned into death traps for commuters. With recarpeting stalled for years due to the MC's financial crisis and now a bitumen shortage, the condition of roads continues to deteriorate.
