Road laid sans removing jeep: AE, contractor to give explanation

VELLORE: Vellore Corporation Commissioner S Ashok Kumar has sought an explanation from the local body’s Zone 3 AE and a contractor who laid a tar road in Sainathapuram without removing a condemned government jeep parked there, on Saturday.

Revealing this to DT Next, the commissioner said, “the road stretch to be laid should have been ‘sectioned’ after inspection by the zone AE, the contractor concerned and the latter’s site engineer, which was obviously not done.This was the reason why the road was laid without the vehicle being removed.”

Locals complained to Vellore corporation officials following the fiasco of a cement road being laid without removing a parked two-wheeler in a street abutting the busy commercial hub of Gandhi road near CMC hospital.

Residents of Ponniammankoil street where the ‘incident’ occurred said they complained to officials as the contractor refused to remove the vehicle when laying the road stating that it was not his job. Following the hue and cry, Ashok Kumar visited the area and on seeing the vehicle, removed it using a crane.

“The vehicle, a condemned state government jeep, had been parked in that area for nearly 10 years. However, no government department had come forward to claim it and when we asked two departments, we were told that the vehicle was not theirs. Hence even today we do not know to which department the vehicle belongs,” the commissioner said.

Senior corporation officials said the issue highlighted the shoddy work being undertaken by contractors due to technical staff not undertaking the mandatory checks. “Very soon we expect official action to be taken on such officials who do not do their work as mandated by rules and the government,” they said.