Hyderabad: No decision on white-top roads

Hyderabad: The white-topped concrete roads at Banjara Hills Road no. 10 and at Sindhi Colony, Secunderabad, were the only ones that were unaffected in the recent rain that lashed the city. Not a single portion of these roads was damaged, owing to the good quality of cement used — not by the GHMC but by private cement companies on a pilot basis.

These roads cost Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh more than what the GHMC spends on black-topped roads. Cement companies had come forward to lay white-topped roads at the rates offered for bitumen roads, but the GHMC again called for tenders for BT roads for 150 stretches and for 44 km of white-topped roads.

A senior officer from the GHMC’s road engineering wing said, “White topping is to provide concrete cement overlay on existing, damaged BT roads. To lay a white-topped road, road closure is required for during construction and the curing period.” He said some of the benefits included long life, low maintenance, low life-cycle cost and improved safety. “Once a road is laid it cannot be cut for pipeline work,” he said.

He said white-topping required a plant and machinery which would take a minimum of two-three months and an investment of Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore.

“It needs an investment of Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore per annum. The proposal to supply cement by the cement makers at subsidised rates has not materialised.” The government has asked the GHMC to prepare a document to evolve a strategy on white-top roads.

VIP roads to get superior BT mix
Potholes on VIP roads are filled with a “shell mac” mix while normal stretches are filled with hot and cold mix. GHMC road engineering officials said certain roads that witness VIP movements like those at the CM’s Camp Office, Raj Bhavan, Sec-retariat, MLA quarters and Ministers quarters, get the shell mac mix but it cannot be used for other roads due to the high cost involved. Shell mac is a high-quality ready-mix to fill potholes.

GHMC chief engineer, maintenance, Subash Singh said, “Since June 7, the engineering staff has identified 60,000 potholes in the twin cities. Before August 31, many potholes were filled. But the city received very heavy rain on August 31, which continued up to the last week of September. This battered the roads and doubled the potholes.”

He said that the GHMC was filling potholes with the help of two ready-mix plants. “As the two plants are located in different corners and cannot immediately cater to other zones, we have been told to use emulsion road mix, which is prepared on the spot.” He said the corporation could fill 2,000 potholes a day.