NEW DELHI: The Surajkund-Badkhal road — which is traversing an area being promoted as a new educational hub of Haryana — is a nightmare for drivers. The entire stretch is riddled with potholes and at some places the bitumen layer has given way.
HUDA administrator Suprabha Dahiya told TOI that the complete overhaul of the stretch to make it a four-lane road will happen by March 2014. "The entire stretch will be overlaid up to Delhi border. I admit that the condition is very bad on certain stretches," she said.
Lack of repairs and plying of overloaded trucks and dumpers coming from crusher zone with building materials have damaged the road badly. Though HUDA claimed that the contractor has been directed to fill potholes immediately, no work was being done on Wednesday.
"I will direct the contractor once again on Thursday to maintain the worst-affected stretches. The overhauling was planned in January, but got delayed," said Dahiya. Commuters said that in the past few years, the administration never carried out complete relaying and only certain portions were blacktopped before the Surajkund Crafts fair.
The stretch has a number of educational institutions and is also the key road that gives direct access from Delhi to Gurgaon-Faridabad road.
In a letter to HUDA administrator, road safety expert Rohit Baluja, who also runs College of Traffic Management located on this road, has said that over the years there has been only break-down maintenance such as patch repair. "There are huge
potholes and during rain these are filled with water affecting the riding quality. We have witnessed several accidents where two wheelers lost their balance and fell down after being hit by a car or truck," he said.
The commuters lamented how the bad road condition impacts not just the riding quality but also damaged vehicles. Hitting or riding over potholes can cause buckled wheels, cracks, lumps in the tyre, cracked alloys and it can knock out the tracking and wheel balancing.
Baluja said that pothole-ridden roads result in bumpy rides and cause serious ailments such as spondylitis. "Out of frustration, I have suggested that the administration should suggest closure of parts of stretches which are non-motorable," he added.
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