Subject to heavy traffic and dumping of sacks of fruits and vegetables, the asphalt road had been identified for a make over -- and approved in principle -- in 1995, when the BJP captured power in the civic body. But the work could not begin as the administration claimed to have no budgetary provisions for it.

Councillors, averse to funding the road from the administrative wards budget and their own quota, demanded that the bill be footed by the capital works budget.

Now being financed by the Entertainment Tax grant, the Rs 16 lakh-project envisions to create the first cement-concrete road in the city. A couple of years ago, the VMC had cement-concretised a short stretch on either side of the Alkapuri underbridge.

Talking to Express Newsline, executive engineer (road-projects) M M Patel said that though such roads cost five times more than the asphalt ones, their life was longer. While asphalt roads need to be tarmacked at least once in five years, cement-concrete roads would survive at least 30 years, he explained.

``This is the city's first experiment, but we have plans to convert the Dabhoi Road into a cement-concrete stretch'', he said. It'll cost around Rs 80 lakhs to cement-concretise the one km road, but the VMC is yet to work out the financial nitty-gritties. Sources said it might try to raise loans.

Announcing that there were no plans to cement-concretise very many in the near future -- owing to the cost factor -- Patel said Godi Road, too, would not be converted, as stormwater drains had been laid there recently and would help prevent damage to the street.