NEW DELHI: Have you ever driven on a road of which only one half is carpeted? It’s like having half of your car on the sidewalk with the other half
resting on the road. Many commuters in East Delhi are not unfamiliar with this experience since they have been going through it for about one-and-a-half years. And thereby hangs a tale of wanton wastage of public money with virtually no coordination between two government agencies.

This road, known as Narwana Road or Mother Dairy Marg, in Patparganj runs parallel to NH-24 and is a busy stretch of about 2.5 km with many apartments on both sides. The road was, to begin with, in a decrepit state when the Public Works Department decided to strengthen it in August 2007.

Work on one side was completed but had to be called off on the other carriageway in February 2008 when Delhi Jal Board decided to lay new pipelines there following complaints of leakage which led to water accumulating on the road and damaging it. So, a bumpy, uneven road now had an elevated portion running on one side. That was when those using this stretch discovered the thrill of driving with a tilt.

Now, as it happens quite often with work undertaken by Delhi Jal Board, it progressed in fits and starts even as the PWD’s Rs 9-cr project to strengthen the stretch had to wait.

DJB claims their work is now over and it was only because of the rains and later the assembly elections that it got delayed. “The pipes had to be laid four to five feet deep and the process was first delayed due to the monsoon during which DJB could not carry out any work and later due to the assembly elections. However, we have completed our work there and road restoration is taking place now,” said a DJB official who didn’t wish to be quoted.

The PWD doesn’t agree. “The DJB has been carrying out work in a very piecemeal manner. They would dig and re-dig a stretch several times. In fact, some work is still going on near the fire station and there have been more problems of water connections getting affected in some societies,” said the DJB official. Residents too said that there was very little management of work by DJB and they would dig and re-dig several times.

In fact, now the PWD is facing the usual problems associated with delayed projects. “We have to float fresh tenders now since the present contractor does not want to continue working there due to the increased construction and labour costs due to the delays,” said a senior PWD official. And though some work has started, the process will take another two months now, he said, and add Rs 3 crore to what was originally a Rs 9 crore project. And then the rains may once again stall work.

Meanwhile, the residents can only pray. Said L K Bhatia, a resident of Konark Apartments: “The road was in a bad condition before DJB took on the work. However, with constant digging, the road became a nightmare to drive on.”

Added Manshul Sinha, a resident of Press Apartment: “Due to the shoddy job done by DJB our water supply has been disrupted. The side of Narwana Road which has not been made for over a year now is so uneven that accidents happen there regularly. The government agencies are blaming each other for the mess but we are the ones who have to suffer this despite paying our taxes.”