Clearing the mess: MC to give work of 7 roads to pvt firm
Ludhiana: Dusty roads, dusty trees, and a miasma of dust that hangs thick and still. Air in Ludhiana seems to be perpetually heavy with dust. Even if roads are swept, the dust simply settles back on the surface.
Stumped by the problem of ever present dust, the MC has decided to outsource work of cleaning, maintenance of plantation on roads and mechanical sweeping of seven main roads of the city. The private firm to which the 31.6km stretch will be given will be responsible for everything except construction of new roads.
Selected roads are Old GT Road, Pakhowal Road, Hambran Road, Malhar Road, Rotary Club Road (Ishmeet Singh Road and Dana Mandi Road), Gill Road, and Model Town Road (Deep Hospital Road and Mintgumri Road).
The civic body will hire a firm that will deploy adequate number of mechanical sweeping, washing, and vacuum machines, along with manpower, to fulfil the project requirements. Mechanical sweeping will involve comprehensive cleaning of roads, including parking areas. The task of removing horticultural waste, plastic, litter, C&D waste, and bin clearing will also go to the contractor. This includes cutting of grass and beautifying the central verge, which entails cleaning and clearing wild growth, as needed.
MC officials said that the vehicles used by the contractor should have GPS equipment and other advanced systems, such as the Offsite Real-Time (OSRT) Monitoring System, so that movement of vehicles can be checked from anywhere. The firm should ensure installation of at least two cameras (front and back) of a minimum of 5MP on each machine.
Confirming the move, MC executive engineer Balwinder Singh said that it is important to maintain cleanliness on city roads.
He added that if the project turned out to be a success, it could be expanded to other roads as well.
The MC has limited staff strength to maintain cleanliness and horticulture. Hiring more staff is not financially feasible for the civic body, which finds it difficult to pay existing sanitation employees.
To be taken as a box: Roads to be given in private hands
Old GT Road - 7.7 km
Pakhowal Road - 4 km
Hambran Road - 6 km
Malhar Road - 1.9 km
Rotary Club Road, Ishmeet Singh Road, and Dana Mandi Road - 5.3 km
Gill Road - 4.8 km
Model Town Road, Deep Hospital Road, and Mintgumri Road - 1.9 km
Total Road Length - 31.6 km
PMIDC to hire consultant for Europe-style roads
Recently, the state government announced plans to transform 12.4 kilometres of roads in Ludhiana on the pattern of European countries. Roads such as Old GT Road (Sherpur Chowk to Jagraon Bridge) – 6.5 km, Chaura Bazaar (starting from Clock Tower) – 1.75 km, and Ghumar Mandi Road (from Fountain Chowk to Aarti Cinema) – 4.2 km; have been selected for the transformation. However, Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) is yet to hire a consultant for the project.
Civic officials said that these things are to be done at the PMIDC level.
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