Civic works fast-tracked after poll-time lull

Madurai: The assembly election over, and model code of conduct lifted a week ago, Madurai corporation has speeded up several ongoing projects which slowed down in the past two months, and also started work on upcoming projects. Following heavy rain in the past week, stagnant floodwater had damaged many city roads. Officials said the main focus is on repairing such roads, and patchwork has begun. Krishnamurthy, a resident of SS Colony, said water reached up to his knees because of flooding. "After the water dried, we continued to suffer potholed roads," he said, adding that many roads need to be relaid instead of undertaking patchwork to close potholes. Another ongoing project being undertaken by the corporation is identifying stormwater drains in low-lying areas that have blockages and clearing them. "Work was stopped midway around the election period, during which time the city was hit by rain. We have fast-tracked the work since then to prevent issues with flooded roads during the monsoon season," a senior corporation official said.He said that at present, major projects also include removal of arches around the city causing traffic disruptions. "A tender has been floated for removal of KK Nagar arch, and work will begin soon. The other arches will also be removed by the end of June," the official said. "All workers on site will be fully equipped with safety gear to prevent any untoward incident, as it occurred when the Mattuthavani arch was removed," he said. He said they will test the integrity of the arch to make sure it is removed with as little damage to the road.Along with these projects, Madurai corporation is also working with public works department to upgrade underground drainage (UGD) system. A PWD official said this was a long-term project, and that all work will be over in 2027.Vehicle Monitoring System Launched The Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) has launched a centralised Vehicle Monitoring System to monitor and efficiently direct corporation vehicles, including garbage vehicles and other repair vehicles. Nandakishore of ICCC said the monitoring system uses GPS and other sensors to constantly report live location and status updates on the vehicles. "This will enable us to detect longer-than-usual stoppages and manage the service and repair of corporation vehicles from a centralised monitoring point," he said.