Bathinda: Villagers of Kotbhara and Ramgarh Bhundar in Bathinda have alleged that a newly laid 4-km link road connecting the two villages has started peeling off and developing cracks within a week of its construction.Villagers claimed the road surface could be peeled away by hand at several spots, raising concerns about the quality of the work. They alleged that proper groundwork, including clearing and levelling of the surface, compaction of earth, and laying of an adequate stone or gravel base, was not carried out before a thin layer of bitumen and hot mix asphalt was laid.The quality of the road is so poor that the surface can be peeled off with bare hands at several places, alleged villagers Gurjit Singh and Kuljit Singh, adding that the matter had been brought to the notice of authorities.To substantiate their claims, villagers demonstrated how portions of the road surface could be removed by hand.However, after the issue came to light on Thursday, the vulnerable spots on the road were repaired by the department.The allegations come shortly after Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann stated on the floor of the state assembly that road construction work is generally not undertaken during late July and August because of the monsoon season.Rejecting the allegations, Punjab PWD (B&R) executive engineer Onkar Singh said, “Some people, with the sole intention of defaming the department, carried out the demonstration. The CM Flying Squad inspected the site and found the construction work satisfactory.”He added that the village panchayat was also satisfied with the quality of the road construction.
