After rain batters city roads, NMC allots Rs30cr for repairs

Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has earmarked Rs30 crore for the repair and maintenance of asphalt roads across the city after recent bouts of heavy rain left several stretches riddled with potholes and damaged surfaces.The civic body has initiated the process of appointing contractors through short-term tenders, with repair works expected to begin within a fortnight. Civic officials said priority would be given to severely damaged stretches to improve commuter safety and ease traffic movement during the monsoon.“Ward-wise tenders for road repairs have been floated across all 31 wards. Once the tender process is completed, contractors will be finalised and work orders issued so that repairs can begin at the earliest,” a civic official said.Road conditions deteriorated sharply after five to six days of continuous rainfall. Potholes have surfaced across several parts of the city, causing inconvenience to commuters and raising concerns over road safety. The situation is particularly acute on roads where widening and repair works are underway ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela.On many of the 28 major roads being upgraded under the Kumbh infrastructure project, only one carriageway has been kept open for two-way traffic while work continues on the other side.

The open stretches have developed large potholes at multiple locations, further slowing traffic and inconveniencing residents.Shiv Sena (UBT) protest over bad condition of roadsMeanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators staged a protest outside the office of municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan on Thursday, demanding immediate repairs of damaged roads and an urgent review of the city’s monsoon preparedness.A delegation led by Shiv Sena (UBT) group leader Keshav Porje submitted a memorandum to Khatri, highlighting issues such as potholes, waterlogging, choked drainage lines and sewage entering residential areas following heavy rain.Porje alleged that the rainfall had exposed shortcomings in NMC’s pre-monsoon preparations. "Waterlogged roads had disrupted traffic movement and contributed to minor accidents, while uprooted trees had damaged vehicles in different parts of the city,” he said.Questioning the civic administration’s preparedness for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela scheduled for next year, Porje said the city’s condition after just a few days of rain raised concerns over the quality of pre-monsoon works. He demanded that all issues be resolved within seven days and warned of a larger agitation if corrective measures were not taken.Moreover, Shiv Sena city chief Pravin Tidme, from the Eknath Shinde-led faction, has sought a special meeting of the General Body to hold discussions on present condition of city roads and assess pre-monsoon works carried out by the civic body.