Run campaign to make UP roads pothole-free before Diwali: CM Yogi to officials

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 11 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday directed officials to run a special campaign to make roads in the state pothole-free before Diwali in the coming November, an official statement said. 
While holding a meeting with various departments on Monday, the Chief Minister said that the monsoon situation this year is unusual. There is a possibility of continuous rain in many districts in the coming days. Keeping this in mind, a state-wide road pothole-free campaign should be run before Diwali in November. 
CM said that about 04 lakh kilometres of roads of departments like Public Works Department, NHAI, Mandi Parishad, Irrigation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Sugar Industry and Sugarcane Development, Housing, Infrastructure and Industrial Development etc. are there in the state. It is the responsibility of all of us to make walking on every road a pleasant experience for the common man, read the statement. 
If the previously operated roads deteriorate due to big projects like Metro/Expressway, the concerned department would be held responsible. After being briefed about the departmental action plan for Pothole -free Roads Campaign, the Chief Minister directed the concerned departments to focus on better planning, ruling out any dearth of funds in this regard. 
CM instructed all the departments to ensure that the road building agency/contractor also takes the responsibility of maintaining the road for the next 05 years after its construction. The terms and conditions in this regard should be clearly mentioned, as mentioned the statement.
Terming engineers as the 'backbone' of construction work, he said that there should be no shortage of engineers anywhere and if necessary, they should be deployed through outsourcing also, as per the statement from UP government.
Instructing departmental ministers and officers to review construction projects by making random visits to the field and fixing accountability, the Chief Minister stressed on mechanized repair of roads rather than manual. He also said that engineers should be posted only on the basis of merit. 
The Chief Minister said that every department should ensure that people with mafia/criminal tendencies do not get a place in any public interest project. Their close relatives and gang operatives should also be kept away from contracts, says the statement. 
The Chief Minister said that geo-tagging should be done for the pothole-free and re-construction campaign. It should be linked to the PM Gatishakti portal, and its own portal should also be developed on similar lines so that the quality of work can be continuously monitored. 
While giving instructions to the Urban Development and Rural Development Department, the Chief Minister said that water-logged streets must be drained immediately. Departmental officers should remain present on the streets. While discussing the problem of stray dogs in the cities, the Chief Minister also gave instructions for speedy implementation of the proposed animal birth control units and making other useful arrangements, the statement added. (ANI)