Gurgaon: The implementation of MCG’s ‘30-Day Challenge’ to overhaul the city’s crumbling roads has come under scrutiny after a newly constructed stretch in Sushant Lok’s C block began to fall apart barely a day after it was laid.TOI visited the site and found the top asphalt layer of the road, which had been laid on Wednesday, had already peeled off at two spots. Loose debris was spotted at several other locations on the same stretch as well.The disintegration has angered residents of the area, who said the road was supposed to withstand regular traffic and weather conditions. They blamed substandard materials and poor workmanship for the road giving way so soon.“I had raised concerns with both the junior engineer and the councillor, pointing out that adequate bitumen had not been used for proper binding and that substandard materials were being used in the construction. Such poor-quality work amounts to a blatant waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Manoj Chopra, a resident of the area.The road, which is 590 metres long, was constructed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh.
MCG assistant engineer said the disintegration was caused by rain
However, MCG assistant engineer Kuldeep Kumar said, “The road was constructed yesterday and it rained soon after that, due to which the surface layer came off. No poor quality material was used. Another reason why this might have happened is because the residents drove their cars over the stretch while construction work was going on.”He added, “I have now asked the contractor to barricade the road before we start repairing it. This will restrict the movement of vehicles on the roads. We will never compromise on the quality.”At the site, the contractor, Sonu, denied that poor-quality material had been used and attributed the damage to rainfall. He said the affected portion would be repaired.However, residents said the immediate failure of the road raised concerns that went beyond weather conditions. They argued that basic infrastructure planning appeared to have been neglected simply so that the road could be completed on time.“Before they laid the road, they should have laid the PNG line and ensured that there was proper drainage around it. This road gets waterlogged during the rains,” said another resident of the area, J Basu Choudhuri.On Oct 8, Haryana chief minister’s chief principal secretary Rajesh Khullar directed officials to launch the ‘30-Day Challenge’ to improve roads and civic infrastructure in Gurgaon. Under the initiative, officials were tasked with identifying 100 roads with a minimum length of 500 metres that were in poor condition and upgrading them within the next 30 days.
