Road Rot :Doing up shops' facade, while the route fades

Strap: The tourist inviting path from Rambagh to Namdahri Samark has got it all but re-carpeting

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3

A stretch of around 400 meters is being ignored by the government for last five years. That’s not something unusual; there are surely hundreds of it out there. But the fact that city’s oldest church, Civil Hospital, one of the district’s major hospitals, stand on the same road should be a reason mighty enough for the authorities to care about. This is a prominent course from Rambagh Gate to Namdhari Samark.

Ironically, the government is busy beautifying the facades of shops there but re-carpeting is at the bottom of its list. Naveen Kumar, a resident, said, “On one hand the government is promoting the tourism by renovating the private buildings and installing uniform sign boards outside the shops, but on the other hand, the condition of the road is woeful. No one has ever shown concern in last five years. It is an important road and government should prioritise re-carpeting.”

The course connects the historic Rambagh, also known as Company Garden, with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Rambagh Deodhi, so the Tourism Department did up the exteriors of the shops recently. That had to be done as tourists and locals also take the same path to visit the famous garden from Golden Temple. But, the abounding potholes are only eclipsing the government’s efforts being put in to uplift the surroundings — hollowing its tall claims to boost the tourism.

The road leads to major wholesales markets of the city. The traders on the both sides are suffering due to this. During the monsoons, fissures are filled with water and people avoid visiting the market, which imperatively affects their sales.

Mayor Karmajit Singh Rintu, shares, “We gave nod to re-carpet several roads in the city. A large number of major roads are being re-carpeted. Also, small stretches are being looked after. There is no scarcity of funds. We are committed to overall development of the city.”