IN A telling sign of official apathy, PWD officials are passing the buck on the Old Bhandara Road widening work. When contacted, one official said his division was not executing the work and shared another Deputy Engineer's contact, who also denied responsibility. With no link to track who is actually executing the project, accountability remains missing. The result is visible on ground. The widening of Old Bhandara Road - the lifeline of Mominpura-Hansapuri - remains half-built six months after the digging began, forcing two-way traffic through a single lane of dust and gravel.

 

‘The Hitavada’ found that the Rs 70-crore project from Mayo Hospital to Sunil Hotel (3 km), awarded in September 2021, has seen only about 1 km of work completed. The worst hit is Bhagwaghar Chowk to Ganjakhet Square, in front of Mominpura Gate, where one side is cemented and the other lies dug up and abandoned. Fresh digging near Rahman Hotel has choked the road with no entry for four-wheelers. Heavy vehicles, autos and two-wheelers jostle for space with no traffic police or marshals. “Multiple dug-up patches, no traffic police.

 

Even one auto from the opposite side chokes the entire stretch. Residents, schoolchildren and patients going towards Mayo Hospital use this road daily,” said resident Sadiq Shaikh. Traders say business has collapsed. “For six months customers avoid this road. There is no approach to my shop, only dust and stones. Our bangles are covered in dust all day,” said an employee at Laxmi Bangles Store, Mominpura Gate. Corporator Washim Khan said co-ordination between NMC and State PWD is missing. “The plan is to construct a cement road of 18 metres from Mayo to Baghdadi Square and 30 metres till Sunil Hotel. Encroachment removal is pending, but work is also slow. If not expedited, people will suffer for another six months,” Khan added.