It’s that time of the year again in Nagpur; the time to swim on the roads, driving into potholes and blinding your eyes with the flying gravel particles chipped away from the road due to light drizzles. Isn’t it wonderful?
Potholes Everywhere
Duped as the Smart City, Nagpur’s roads don’t seem to be smart at all. From Variety Square in Sitabuldi to Amravati Road all the way to Wadi, these smart roads are making a fool of the commuter who pay taxes from their hard earned money in a hope that the commute in their everyday life will be smooth. All they are getting are potholes every few meters, breaking their vehicles shock absorbers and their back and gravel all over the road making their vehicles skid like a stunt in a Rohit Shetty movie.
As the trees turn green and lively with the first showers, the roads turn battered and bruised. Every drop of rain helps trees bud new leaves and destroys the shabby work of road contractors.
Clogging the City Life
As the Green city, Nagpur, turns greener by the day, it is also turning into a driving hazard for citizens of the city. The water clogging adds to the frustrations. Tunnels are turning into water canals which would put even the Punjab canals to shame. The newly built roads with the so called better drainage only seem to work on paper because the roadways are turning into waterways.
Poor Cement Roads
Then there are the new cement roads of Nagpur. Every time you see one being built, it’s like the sea level rising. They are built over existing roads, increasing the road level, without taking into consideration what impact it would have on the shops or societies adjoining it. Moreover, they are bumpy. One can’t drive a few meters without their head wobbling off their body. An open challenge can be made to anyone who can balance a cup of tea while driving on it without spilling any, if you know what we mean.
Soon, the patch work will start. Covering old sins seems to be a habit of the administration. The fixes will be as temporary as an unfaithful lover’s promises, they are always broken, but the problem is that you always fall for it.
Will the Nagpurians ever get roads which last at least a decade without eroding away every year? The answer seems to be a decade away.
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