Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Video Producer: Aliza Noor
When it comes to the implementation of UP government’s promises, the popular saying ‘promises are meant to be broken’ comes to mind.
When Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took office in March 2017, the promise of making the state’s roads pothole-free was made by 15 June of the same year.
The deadline was missed, and has been ever since. Cut to 2020. On 11 September, the chief minister once again ordered the officials to ensure pothole-free roads before Navratri. It is now the day after Dussehra, but the condition of roads in my hometown Hardoi remain the same.
May it be the Rafi Ahmed Chauraha, Nagheta Road or Civil Lines, the roads of the city have huge potholes.
“The road here is damaged. The patchwork done is also not very good... This is a very old vegetable market, everything is sold here. A lot of officials also cross this area. Despite that, nobody pays attention to our problems.”Achyut Verma, Shop Owner, Chota Chauraha
Ironically, the road leading to the RTO (Regional Transport Office) office is not spared either.
“As far as accidents are concerned, people have trouble with visibility...cars get overturned, bikes have also fallen, then we save them and get them out safely. This is an every day affair now.”A local near RTO office
The roads are constructed but in the next 3-4 months, the situation goes back to square one. The problems faced can be understood only by those who have to commute through these roads on a daily basis.
Accidents have become a common news in the city.
“All of Hardoi’s roads are like this. There’s not a single road without a pothole. We travel around the whole city and we see that nobody cares about traffic. If there’s a patient on the e-rickshaw, then it’s a big problem for us. This is the case across the entire city.”E-rickshaw Driver
There is sheer negligence on the part of the authorities here. Are roads to be constructed only when there is VIP movement? Or when there is a government order? Shouldn’t roads be inspected at regular intervals?
Road construction should not only be a poll promise. The work should not be done just for the sake of meeting deadlines. Citizens’ lives and safety is at risk.
Nagar Palika’s Response to The Quint
The Quint spoke to a senior official at the Hardoi Nagar Palika. He was only able to comment on the condition of the road at Chota Chauraha.
“We haven’t got any official complaints yet. If we do, then we will look into it and present it to the Board also.”
He added, "another reason adding to the problems on the roads is the work being done by the Jal Nigam Amrit Yojana, under which they are constructing pipelines in many areas of the city. They have also started repairing some roads that they dug up."
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