Ludhiana, Nov. 6 -- Several manholes were covered by bitumen during the road recarpeting drive in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, area residents have alleged. As per the tender conditions, the contractor was required to lift the manhole covers using a hydra machine and bring them to the level of the road before re-carpeting, but the contractor's workers chose to cover them completely, making them invisible and inaccessible, the residents said. The municipal corporation has said the matter will be looked into.

Besides, area residents also alleged that several stretches in the locality have been resurfaced without properly levelling the manholes.

Gurpreet Singh, a resident of the area, said, "When the MC spends lakhs of rupees on road recarp...