Transporters blame official apathy for ‘incomplete’ infrastructure in Transport Nagar
Claiming the construction of infrastructural facilities had been left incomplete, they said waterlogging was a persistent issue and a nightmare for commuters and business owners.
Even as civic issues mar Transport Nagar, residents and businesses with operations there alleged apparent indifference from officials to the area’s condition.
Claiming the construction of infrastructural facilities had been left incomplete, they said waterlogging was a persistent issue and a nightmare for commuters and business owners. Adding to it were the bad condition of roads there that frequently developed potholes and were rarely maintained, a transporter said. Frustrated, some have hired workers to clean the lanes on which they operate.
Transport Nagar has been in the headlines after a three-storey building collapsed last Saturday, killing eight people and injuring several others. The building’s map was issued by authorities in 2010.
The leader of a transporters’ welfare association in the area said the authorities had been sent numerous written requests requesting for better maintenance of the infrastructure in the area over the past four years. Yet there was no response from officials, he added.
A transporter stated that waterlogging haunted the area often and no work was done by authorities to improve the situation. Another mentioned that Lucknow Development Authority’s (LDA’s) promises of equipping Transport Nagar with better facilities remained unfulfilled.
Transport Nagar was set up by LDA over four decades ago in 1981. Initially, 1,000 plots were sold in the first phase. More plots were offered in subsequent phases. It was handed over to Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) in 2020.
An official letter highlighted the conditions in which the handover to LMC took place. According to them, LDA was responsible for carrying out infrastructural development works. In December 2019, during a joint inspection carrying out by LDA and LMC, it was agreed that LDA would handle the repair of drains and roads in Mansarovar, Mansarovar Extension and Transport Nagar.
Following the agreement, LDA provided around Rs. 184 lakh to LMC. Out of the total amount, Rs. 75 lakh was for garbage management, Rs. 25 lakhs for cleaning works, Rs. 76 lakhs for lighting, and Rs. 8 lakhs for other items, as stated in the letter.
When questioned about the issues plaguing the area, LDA vice-chairperson Prathmesh Kumar stated that the handover letter would be properly inspected. “If development works have not been completed, then they will be done so after getting an estimation,” he noted.
Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh said both the departments would work together and get the incomplete works completed.
