Committee to Examine Quality of Road Construction Materials - We Suggest Examine Contractors Instead

A committee set up by the state government has decided to test some of the materials that were collected from riverbeds to construct highways and roads in north Bengal to find out the reasons behind their fast deterioration and suggest ways to make them sturdier.

The first-of-its-kind committee, which has as members experts from IIT Kharagpur, Jalpaiguri Engineering College and engineering consultancy company Rites and engineers of the public works department, has decided to send riverbed shingles used to build roads to two government labs. Tests will be done to find out why roads in north Bengal suffered repeated damage and how the roadbeds were laid before they were covered with layers of asphalt.

"Some of the roads, including NH31D, NH31C and a stretch of NH34, are in a bad shape. The state government is also building a potion of the Asian Highway (that will connect Bangladesh and Bhutan via north Bengal). We want to find out how roadbeds can be made sturdier so that the roads don't develop potholes," said a PWD engineer who is a member of the committee.

Nabanna sources said that during one of her recent visits to north Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee was "furious" after learning that several roads in the region were either caving in or developing potholes despite the government spending crores on their repair and maintenance. After returning to Calcutta, she set up the committee primarily to find out ways to prevent the formation of craters.

The foundations of most highways and other roads in north Bengal are built using shingles that are collected from the beds of the rivers criss-crossing the region. The shingles are mixed with sand in proportions stipulated in a central government manual.

Sources in the PWD, which is responsible for the maintenance of several roads in north Bengal, said the riverbed shingles were used because of the state government's insistence on "locally available materials" to build roads.

The committee will examine whether the riverbed shingles can bear loads. Roads in south Bengal mostly use bricks, stones and gravel and are sturdier, sources said.

Its funny though, while Mamata is blaming everyone and everything, she is yet to issue an inquiry into the contractors. Shouldn't that is where she should have started her investigation from?

[Via: Telegraph]