NEW DELHI: In a first joint media interaction with former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal after he resigned from the post, Delhi chief minister Atishi on Monday announced her government will repair all damaged roads before the Assembly polls due early next year. She said the government identified 89 damaged PWD roads spanning 230 km for strengthening.
The chief minister said AAP leaders have identified a total of 6,671 potholes during a series of inspections they conducted in the past few weeks. Out of the total potholes, 3,454 have already been filled and the remaining 3,217 will be repaired in the coming days, she said. “Based on these inspections, it was determined that 89 roads, totaling 230 km, require complete strengthening. Tenders for 74 of these roads have already been issued, and work will begin soon. The other 15 roads are also in the tendering process, and work will start shortly after finalisation,” the chief minister said.
Underlining that the city has 1,400 km of PWD-maintained roads, totaling 7,000 lane km, Ms Atishi said after the inspections, all the data was uploaded to the PWD website for public accountability.
Hitting out at the BJP, Atishi said, “The Central government orchestrated a conspiracy against the AAP and our leader Arvind Kejriwal, fabricating charges that resulted in his unjust imprisonment for six months. The goal of this conspiracy was to stop the good work being done by the Delhi government at any cost. And everyone saw how, over the past six months, the daily work of Delhi's people was disrupted,” said the chief minister at the press briefing.
Mr Kejriwal also addressed the press briefing and said all the “stalled” projects would be resumed. “When I was in jail, these people (BJP) stalled various works of the Delhi government. After I returned, I and Atishi inspected the roads and saw they were not in good condition. I wrote to her and requested that Atishi ji get these roads maintained with immediate effect,” he said.
“Once re-elected, our government will also launch new initiatives. In the past year, our ministers were systematically imprisoned, halting important public welfare projects. But now, we are getting everything back on track,” Mr Kejriwal continued.
Mr Kejriwal said that in addition to road repairs, the Delhi government will also address several other concerns, including a shortage of medicines in hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, the cessation of free medical tests and suspension of the “Farishtey Dilli Ke” scheme to provide free treatment to road accident victims.
“I have been informed about the significant shortage of medicines in hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, as well as the cessation of free tests. The 'Farishtey' scheme, which provided free treatment to road accident victims in Delhi, has also been discontinued. I want to reassure everyone that we are addressing all the stalled projects and the issues faced by the public,” the former chief minister said.
The AAP supremo said: “I have instructed CM Atishi to restart the projects that were halted, and resume all these initiatives. We will work to address the issues that have arisen.”