After months of public complaints over damaged roads and unsafe conditions across Belagavi, the Belagavi City Corporation has decided to take up restoration of roads dug up for the city’s 24×7 drinking water supply project. The civic body will later recover the expenditure from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) and its contractor, L&T Construction.
The roads were excavated for laying underground water pipelines and providing household tap connections under the ambitious 24×7 drinking water scheme. However, restoration work has remained incomplete at several locations, leaving caved-in trenches, uneven surfaces and dangerous stretches that have become a daily challenge for commuters, particularly two-wheeler riders.
Residents across several parts of Belagavi have repeatedly raised concerns over deteriorating road conditions, with many stretches resembling construction zones long after pipeline work was completed. The situation has also resulted in frequent accidents and traffic disruptions.
A major reason for the problem has been the lack of coordination between KUIDFC, the Belagavi City Corporation and Belagavi Smart City Limited. In several instances, newly laid cement concrete roads developed under the Smart City project were dug up again for water pipeline works, leading to public criticism over poor planning.
Belagavi MLA Asif Sait said he personally inspected several affected roads and found that excavation and restoration had not been carried out according to prescribed standards. Following a meeting with officials from Corporation and KUIDFC, it was decided that the damaged roads must be restored immediately to prevent further accidents.