Pune: The civic body has set a deadline of April 30 for all govt agencies, semi-govt establishments, and private companies to complete road digging works for laying service lines and cables.The administration has preponed the deadline by a month to avoid a last-minute rush in completing road reinstatement and resurfacing works ahead of the monsoon.The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) stated that no new permissions for road digging will be granted after May 1, except for emergency works. A period of one month (the entire month of May) has been allotted exclusively for road resurfacing. The administration has also warned of action against those involved in road digging after the stipulated deadline.The instructions come after criticism the civic administration faced last year from commuters for failing to complete road repairs before the arrival of the monsoon. Last year, Pune started receiving rainfall from the last week of May, causing hardships for commuters due to the poor condition of roads.Officials from the PMC’s road department said adequate steps are being taken this year to complete major repairs before the monsoon.“We have already issued reminders to various agencies that often dig roads for laying cables. We expect them to follow the timeline,” said Rajesh Bankar, head of PMC’s road department.The city has a road network of over 2,400 km. The administration said most road maintenance works will be undertaken by ward offices, along with the road department. Details of the reinstatement plans are currently being worked out.Residents, however, have raised apprehensions about PMC’s road reinstatement plan, claiming that the administration often fails to adhere to deadlines.Sandip Vadekar, a resident of Satara Road, said, “Last year, the administration faced difficulties in completing road resurfacing because of the early arrival of rains. The quality of repairs was compromised. We do not want a repeat of last year’s shoddy work.”Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch said there has been a long-pending demand from commuters and civic organisations for the PMC to appoint a third-party agency to inspect road works and assess whether the repairs can withstand the monsoon. “The administration only collects photographs of the work done by contractors. Instead, there should be actual on-ground inspections,” Velankar said.
