Surat: In a pre-monsoon push to address civic problems, the Surat Municipal Corporation and metro authorities will carry out a joint, citywide survey to identify and fix damaged infrastructure and traffic bottlenecks, aiming to resolve urgent complaints.This decision was taken at a coordination meeting on Wednesday attended by mayor Maya Mavani, municipal commissioner M Nagrajan, standing committee chairman Rajan Patel, and officials from Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) and Surat Integrated Transportation Development Corporation Ltd (SITCO).SMC officials flagged prolonged road barricading at several places and damage to underground utility lines during metro construction. Joint teams will now carry out spot inspections through zonal offices to identify sites requiring intervention. The teams will include civic zonal officers and GMRC divisional officials.“There are complaints from citizens that must be resolved before the monsoon to avoid more trouble,” Patel said.Metro authorities said barricades have already been removed from 10km of the previously cordoned 16km of roads, with the remaining stretches limited to areas around stations where work is underway.“At places where the civic body instructed us, we have repaired utility lines. Our officials are examining the damage at such spots with civic officials,” a metro official said. Metro teams have also been directed to repair roads where barricades were recently removed.SITCO, which is developing the Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) near the railway station, has been asked to open certain stretches and ensure roads are motorable. A SITCO official said the Ayurvedic Underpass-to-railway station stretch is expected to open to traffic in 15 days.
