Repair work on Shekilango starts
 
2006-05-15 09:19:29
By Amri Lugungulo, PST

	A civil engineer, Ernest Herbert uses a dumpy level machine when his company Hari Singh and Sons started rehabilitation of Shekilango Road in Dar es Salaam yesterday. (Photo: Tryphone Mweji)

Major repairs of the dilapidated Shekilango road in Dar es Salaam started yesterday.

It got off with the eviction of people who own business structures on the roadsides.

Kiosks and other structures were pulled down to give way to the clearing of the road reserves to which the road will be expanded.

Truckloads of gravel and other materials that will be used in the rehabilitation of the road were ferried to the road, where a grader was already on site levelling parts of the road where structures had been cleared.

Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Yusuf Makamba toured the road yesterday and officially announced the commencement of the rehabilitation that is being undertaken by Hari Singh and Sons Ltd.

Makamba also ordered owners of structures erected along the 3.8km road, which connects Morogoro and Bagamoyo roads in Dar es Salaam, demolished to create room for the construction of the drainage system.

The demolition order affects residential and commercial buildings, kiosks, business stalls and petrol stations.
It is estimated that the road will take 32 weeks and will cost of 2.1bn/- to repair.

The RC also took issue with some residents for failing to build septic tanks to prevent dirty effluent from spilling onto the road.

’We should not live like this. Never on earth do city residents live like this – where everybody builds a house and discharges sewage on the roads instead of constructing a septic tank for the purpose,’ he said.

Hari Singh and Sons Ltd managing director, Jaspal Singh, said the rehabilitation work would involve creating room on the road shoulders for users – including motorists – to pass.

He said his company, in collaboration with the Kinondoni Municipal engineer would survey and design the road before rehabilitation goes into full swing.

Kinondoni Municipality Mayor Salim Londa, who had accompanied the RC, told reporters that the rehabilitation work would be underwritten by the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government.

On Thursday last week, Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa made a surprise tour of the road and ordered the Kinondoni Municipal Council to embark on the rehabilitation of the road today.

The PM, had wondered why the Kinondoni authorities had left the road to deteriorate to such a bad state.

• SOURCE: Guardian