CURATED BY – RAJIV KHARE | CITYCHIEFNEWS

The High Court has taken a serious stand on the dilapidated condition of Takhatpur-Mungeli-Pandaria road in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh and has taken it as a public interest litigation. The court has directed the Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) to start the repair work of the roads as soon as the code of conduct ends. The next hearing of this case will be on March 4.

Due to the abundance of potholes on the Takhatpur-Mungeli-Pandaria road, pedestrians, drivers and local citizens are facing a lot of problems. Accidents are happening every day, raising questions on the safety of the common man. Local residents and social organizations have raised the demand for repair of roads many times, but till now no concrete steps were taken at the administrative level.

Taking cognizance of the continuous complaints regarding the dilapidated condition of the road, the High Court registered it as a public interest litigation. The court made it clear that it is the government's responsibility to provide basic facilities to the public, and the poor condition of the roads cannot be ignored.

At present, the work of repairing the roads is suspended due to the implementation of the code of conduct in the state. The court made it clear that as soon as the election process is over, the Public Works Department will have to start repair work on a war footing.

Local citizens say that thousands of vehicles pass through this road daily, including school children, businessmen and villagers. Many bike riders have fallen and got injured due to potholes, while heavy vehicles are also facing accidents. People are hoping that the administration will take action soon after the court's intervention.
Subject experts say that the tendency of negligence in road construction and repair is increasing. Due to lack of timely repair, not only the common people have to face difficulties, but government money is also lost. If quality is taken care of in the construction work and monitoring is done from time to time, then such problems will not arise.
The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case on March 4. It is expected that during this time the PWD will present an action plan to the court regarding the repair of roads. If the department does not take concrete action on this, then the court can give further strict instructions.