Newly-built Concrete Road In Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur Gets Damaged, Locals Seek Action

Despite several initiatives to improve connectivity, road damage is indeed a significant concern in India. This affects road safety, vehicle maintenance and traffic flow. There are several reasons behind this, including inadequate drainage systems, corruption and poor construction materials and techniques. In the same instance, a newly constructed CC road has now disappeared in Chilhati village, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. The road was constructed at a cost of lakhs, but now it has been damaged. The locals are struggling with this problem, while the officials and the sarpanch are busy blaming each other. They said that the road got damaged due to heavy vehicles passing through the market.

SDO Amit Banjare claimed that the quality of the 500-600-metre-long road constructed at a cost of Rs 12-15 lakh was verified during construction. But rapid deterioration has raised suspicions of substandard materials and collusion between officials. Sub Engineer Abhishek Bhardwaj said that the road got damaged due to the movement of heavy vehicles from the paddy market.

Villagers alleged that the road was built shorter than proposed and with inferior materials. A villager named Suresh Yadav said that there has been a huge scam in road construction due to collusion between the Sarpanch and the officials. Not only was the road built to a shorter distance than the proposed length, but it was built with substandard material.

According to villagers, the road started crumbling just a few months after the construction, which is a clear indication of the use of substandard material. They questioned that when it was already known that heavy vehicles from the Mandi would pass through this road, then why was it not made durable at the time of construction?

The administration and the Sarpanch now claiming that the road broke due to heavy vehicles is only an attempt to shirk their responsibility. The villagers have demanded an impartial investigation of the entire matter and strict action against those responsible. The Sarpanch has now demanded the Mandi Samiti to get the road rebuilt.