NH widening: Blocked drains lead to waterlogging in Nurpur's Bhadwar village

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, April 30

Residents of Bhadwar village on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway 154 are up in arms against a highway construction company for alleged shoddy roadside digging, which is leading to waterlogging in the area.

Even a little rain causes waterlogging on around 200-metre stretch on the existing NH at Bhadwar.

The rainwater remain stagnant in front of shops, besides entering houses situated on roadside. It is also becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

On Monday, rain inundated roadside shops and houses. Affected shopkeepers Joginder Kumar, Prakash Mehra and Mukesh said they had registered their objection with the field staff of the company engaged in four-lane highway widening work, but to no avail. They alleged that the construction company had damaged existing roadside drains, which caused waterlogging near their shops whenever it rained. “It affects our routine trading activities,” Mehra said.

Sudarshan Sharma, another shopkeeper, said the company must reconstruct the drainage system and ensure proper flow of rainwater.

Satish Sharma, an educationist who also has his shop at Bhadwar, said he had contacted the office of the construction company thrice, but got hollow assurances.

When contacted, Harpreet Singh, Chief Executive Officer of IRB highway construction company undertaking the highway widening project from Kandwal to Bherkhud, said he was giving directions to the manager concerned to ensure that a proper drainage system is laid at Bhadwar besides addressing other public concerns at the earliest possible.

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