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Raising of road levels compounding city woes

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 2 � Indiscriminate raising of road levels in the city in blatant violation of urban planning norms has been a bane on the city�s development process besides adding to the woes of the citizens, especially during the prolonged monsoons.

In what has been a recurring phenomenon, every time a city road is re-laid, it invariably gains a height of a few inches with the result that many of the roads and streets � following decades of repairing � now stand at a height equal to or even exceeding the windows of houses.

Apparently, the government authorities concerned such as PWD and GMDA do not have any logical explanation why this blatant violation is being perpetuated. The ongoing re-laying of the RG Baruah Road has added several inches to the already high road plinth. With the authorities choosing to remain oblivious to the disturbing consequences of this malpractice, citizens feel that the matter needs intervention from the judiciary.

The Patna High Court, in a recent judgement over a PIL, ordered the road construction department and other agencies concerned to stop raising the level of the roads all over the State of Bihar. The court observed that urban development guidelines which provide for digging the old roads before constructing new ones must be followed and that the agencies must ensure that the level of the road remains the same after fresh construction.

The court even rejected the submission of the department that digging the dilapidated roads before re-laying fresh roads on them would entail additional cost.

The abnormal rise in road levels has seriously aggravated the waterlogging problem for residents in many areas of the city. Residents in several areas complained that their houses had been �sinking� with the corresponding rise in road level.

�We are compelled to spend heavily on measures to block rainwater. Even more disturbing is the fact that our houses built from our lifelong savings have suffered irreversible damage. This is a huge economic loss,� a resident of RG Baruah Road said, adding that many families had shifted to other areas while a few had even sold off their houses in view of the deteriorating situation.

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