Patna: The beautification work of Gandhi Maidan that includes building the morrum pathway and installing checked tiles has been badly hit because of continuous rain.

The installation work of new lights has been put on hold as wiring is not allowed because of preparation for Independence Day events.

Morrum pathway has been removed at 20 places after the accumulated water at the ground was not draining out. The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) fixed the drains by removing the morrum pathway as the drainage network was right bellow it.

There are 20 underground drains, which allow accumulated water to drain out but the drains were choked and each one had morrum pathway on top of it. The PMC had no option but to remove the morrum pathway to clear the drains.

Another drain adjacent to the present one was connected so that water could be drained out without touching the morrum pathway. However, the new drain was so narrow that it could not take the pressure of the water and it became important to remove the morrum to clear the drain.

The contractor who is looking after the Rs 3 crore project expressed disappointment claiming that instead of using JCB machine, the PMC could have used labour force, which would have damaged the morrum pathway lesser.

"My work has now doubled after the morrum pathway was removed by the JCB machine. It should have been removed using labour force. Now, I have to mend it again. I have decided not to make any morrum pathway wherever there is a drain otherwise it would be removed again in case of waterlogging. But I will take the permission of the commissioner (Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor who heads the committee that looks after the maintenance, beautification and safety of the ground)," said Shiv Shankar Prasad, the contractor looking after the work.

The morrum pathway is used for jogging. The jogging track is around 2-km long and the checkered red tile adjacent to the jogging track is equally long. The beautification work also includes installation of 160 wooden-wrought iron benches apart from 58 designer lights.

Around 150 benches have been installed but no designer lights have been fixed. This will start after August 15. The project is likely to be completed by September and if the rain continues then the deadline will move further.

The Telegraph had reported that people used to ride motorcycles and cars on the morrum pathway and tiles after which the commissioner put a ban on vehicles going inside the ground.