KISHTWAR: Tall claims made by Road and Building (R&B) Dduring every District Development Board (DDB) meetings for blacktopping of all roads in Kishtwar proved as an eyewash and mere a statement to befool people of this area.
According to reports,a road from heart of city viz Kuleed Chowk to New DC Complex Kishtwar is in very miserable condition where potholes and dust in the road have become a threat for the commuters.
Local shopkeepers, pedestrians and drivers alleged that there is always a threat of accidents due to these big potholes and even during rainy season, these get filled with of water which causes many problems.
It is pertinent to mention here that this road connects Mini Secretariat Kishtwar ( New DC Office Kishtwar) where all district level officers are posted and they travel on the said road on daily basis,but no one is paying attention towards this genuine problem .
A local resident Surjeet Badyal said that the potholes are main reason of the worst condition of the road in the town which also creates difficulties to the pedestrians, locals and the shopkeepers.
“We have approached the higher authorities but only assurances were given and there is a need to solve this mess in the interest of people’s welfare. Due to its miserable condition, the road has become unworthy for traffic and accident-prone causing inconvenience to the passers by,” Badyal added.
The residents of these areas alleged that they even developed respiratory disorders after inhaling dust emanating from the damaged roads.
“The respiratory ailments besides other dust-borne diseases have seen a spurt in last few years as potholes and large pits were created in the roads due to negligence of the concerned department towards their maintenance,” said a local shopkeeper Sanjeet Singh .
“We pleaded before authorities several times, but nobody listened to us,” he added.
“I usually visit this area and prefer to use this road while going towards my office but finds it difficult to pass through it,” said a local Randeep Bhandari.
He demanded that the authorities should look into the matter so that the people get relief from the poor condition of roads.
“We are fed up with the dust, caused by moving vehicles on the road, which has not been blacktopped since long and this has caused health hazards to the residents and shopkeepers in particular.” said a local Ajay Badyal. “There is another major problem of water logging due to choking of drains during rains,” he said and demanded proper de-silting of drains.
Residents urged upon the R&B Minister and Chief Engineer to personally intervene into the matter and give necessary instructions to the concerned authorities for blacktopping the road at the earliest.