Tiles of newly constructed footpaths come off, Dharamsala residents irked

Recently constructed footpaths under the Smart City project in Dharamsala in many parts of the city have got damaged. Residents of the city have raised concerns over the quality of material used in the construction of the footpaths and shoddy work carried out by contractors.

While talking to The Tribune, Swatantra Mahajan, a resident of the Barol area in Dharasmala, said many footpaths constructed along roads had got damaged. Recently constructed footpaths along the Dharamsala international cricket stadium road had been dug up, said Mahajan.

Footpaths were constructed along the road heading from Sacred Heart School to the Moily area. After recent monsoon, the concrete on footpaths got damaged. The public money used for the construction of footpaths has gone down the drain. Cracks have appeared on footpaths. The quality of tiles used on footpaths is very poor. BK Sharma, a Moily area resident

“It’s unfortunate that the public money used for the construction of footpaths has gone waste. The department concerned and the government should penalise contractors who carried out such poor construction work,” he said.

BK Sharma, a resident of the Moily area, said footpaths were constructed along the road heading from Sacred Heart School to the Moily area. After recent monsoon, the concrete on footpaths got damaged. The public money used for the construction of footpaths went down the drain, he said. Cracks had appeared on footpaths constructed along the road, he said. The quality of tiles used on footpaths was very poor, he added. Tiles on footpaths had already started coming out, he said. The authorities of the Smart City project should take action against contractors over the poor quality of work done by them in the area, he said.

Sources said the authorities of the Smart City project had withheld payments of some contractors for carrying out poor construction works. Residents have alleged that in several areas of the city, newly laid concrete roads were being dug up for laying underground telecom wires or other lines. This pointed towards lack of coordination between various government departments in the city, residents said.

When contacted, Zaffar Iqbal, Commissioner, Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, said there was a provision under the Smart City project to get structures repaired from contractors, who executed works, in case of damage within a stipulated time.

He said, “In case residents bring to the notice of the civic body any damage to works executed under the Smart City project recently, contractors concerned can be asked to carry out repairs at their own expenses.”

Regarding recently executed works for which concrete roads were dug up for laying underground cables and lines, the Commissioner said he would look into the matter.