New road crumbles within 7 days in Chatra, residents allege irregularities

Chatra: A new bitumen road in ward 14 of Chatra has started deteriorating within a few days of construction, residents said.The road built on June 9 in Wadi-e-Irfan locality has developed cracks and started peeling off at several places after a spell of light rain.

Residents alleged that a thin layer of bitumen and stone chips was laid directly over soil without proper base preparation.

Locals said they had opposed the alleged poor quality of work but the contractor ignored their concerns.The 1-km road till Nauwa Toli is part of a project involving both road and drain construction at an estimated cost of Rs 72 lakh. While the drain work has been completed, the road has deteriorated soon after completion, residents said.“Neither boulders were laid nor was the surface properly cleaned before carpeting,” said Md Gaffur, a resident. “The road was levelled by applying a thin bitumen layer over the soil which resulted in the surface getting damaged after rain,” said another resident Sumit Kumar.Residents said the road was constructed after around 15 years but has now been damaged by alleged irregularities.Contractor Praveen Chandra Pathak said, “Construction was done according to prescribed standards.”City manager of Chatra Municipal Corporation, Ranjit Kumar, said, “If irregularities are found during inquiry, the contractor will be directed to reconstruct the road. Payment has not been released to the contractor yet.”