Belgaum: Superintendent Engineer of the Public Works Department Circle comprising Belgaum, Dharwad and Bagalkot districts Prabhakar H. Chini has admitted that the condition of roads re-carpeted and repaired by the Department are in bad shape.

He cited inadequate funds as the reason for the poor quality of roads.

Talking to presspersons here on Saturday, he said the PWD was sanctioned Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh for the reconstruction of one kilometre of road, while the Karnataka Land Army Corporation was provided Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 30 lakh for the same length.

About certain roads in Belgaum, which continue to be in bad shape despite repairs and re-carpeting, Mr. Chini said soil conditions in some areas were not suitable for asphalting.

The best alternative was to lay concrete roads in such areas, he said.

He said the Department had encountered this problem in on the stretch from NH4 (Sangam Hotel) to RTO Circle, which extends up to Rani Channamma Circle.

Concrete roads

Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna had also favoured a concrete road for this stretch measuring 1.6 km. The Department had already invited tenders to a concrete road at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.5 crore, he said.

He said the Department had planned to construct separate underground pavements for stormwater drains, drinking water supply lines and telecommunication cable networks to avoid digging of roads.

On the condition of the roads, he said many of he roads in the city were designed to carry a maximum load of 20 tonnes. But, trucks carrying minerals were overloaded up to 40 tonnes passed on them, which was one of the reasons for their bad condition.

He said the Department had written to all departments concerned to check the movement of the trucks.

Survey

He said the PWD would soon survey the damages caused by torrential rainfall in the city and district and submit a detailed report to the government.

Mr. Chini said the PWD had spent Rs. 133.6 crore of the Rs.146.10 crore sanctioned for the repair of 19 roads in Belgaum, Bagewadi and Uchagaon Assembly constituencies during 2005-06.

He said the maintenance of 720 km of the total 909 km of State Highways in Belgaum division comprising Belgaum, Ramdurg, Saundatti, Khanapur and Bailhongal in the district was being maintained under a package system for three years.

PWD Executive Engineer Vinayak Sugur was also present.

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