PWD instructs engineers to take up post-monsoon care of roads

Kolkata: The state Public Works department (PWD) has directed all its concerned Chief Engineers to take post-monsoon maintenance measures for proper upkeep of the roads under its jurisdiction.

Additional Chief Secretary, PWD, Naveen Prakash has issued an order clearly stating the actions that should be taken for sprucing up roads with the monsoon season coming to an end.

The concerned Chief Engineers have been asked to complete the work according to the mentioned measures within one month. "A completion report should be sent to the Engineer in Chief and the Ex Officio Secretary within one month. Any slippage from the above target (except for exceptional cases) will be viewed seriously," the order stated.

The department top brass has laid emphasis on taking up pending repair work of bridge structures, including maintenance of expansion joints and bearings. Such work was affected as a natural course during the rainy season. The monsoon has led to the growth of weeds on the side of roads and bridges and directions have been issued to clean these up on a priority basis.

It may be mentioned that after the caving in of Majerhat bridge in September last year, PWD and Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) had carried out an inspection of all bridges in the state including Kolkata.

It was found then that the small plants and weeds that have grown on the edges of a number of bridges have resulted in increased weight of the structures.

Measures were taken to cut off such weeds and plants to reduce the load. However, with the monsoon setting in, such exercises came to a halt.

The order by the Additional Chief Secretary has further directed about upkeep of the existing road signages and road safety structures including crash barriers, boundary pillars, kilometer stones, etc.