In an effort to make 11,107 state roads pothole-free within the next 40 days, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has allotted about Rs 1,400 crore for the work, says an Economic Times report.
The state government earmarked the money on May 6 and the work has to be completed by June 15, before the arrival of monsoon rains – a promise made by Yogi Adityanath when he was sworn in as the new CM in March.
Official orders show that the Lucknow zone, which includes the state capital and surrounding districts, is the region with the most damaged roads – 1,632 potholed roads. This is followed by Faizabad (1,605), Allahabad (1,135), Azamgarh (1,111), Agra (1,106) and Gorakhpur (901).
A survey carried out by the UP Public Works Department for a month found that 85,943 km, about one-third of the state roads, were potholed.
CM Adityanath ordered the PWD officials to keep a close watch to ensure that good-quality material is used to repair the roads and that the construction work is video-graphed in the presence of a prominent public representative.
Also, the CM and other ministers are expected to conduct surprise checks at locations where the repair work is being carried out. The state is also setting up a UP Road Construction Corporation to carry out construction works in future on the lines of the system in Madhya Pradesh.
