Commuting on Doda-Ghat road daily battle for villagers
Ranjit Thakur
Doda, May 4
Belying tall claims of the government of providing better road connectivity in the remote areas of Doda, a majority of the link roads across the district are in a dilapidated condition.
The 4-km Doda-Ghat road which provides connectivity to more than 50,000 inhabitants of Ghat, Arnora, Jodhpur, Kulhand and several other villages is in a dismal condition from a long time.
Residents are inconvenienced due to uneven pedestrian space, dust and incomplete road works. They are unable to use the road because road-widening work is underway.
“Our vehicles have incurred heavy damages due to the dilapidated condition of the road. A majority of the drivers avoid plying vehicles on this road as a result of which passengers have to bear the brunt,” said Hoshyar Singh, a Sumo driver.
“We have time and again apprised the authorities of the condition of this road but our requests fell on deaf ears,” a local resident of Ghat said.
People who live in the area are concerned about the amount of dust coming to their homes. “When the wind is blowing towards our homes, they get saturated with particulate matter. We can’’t keep cleaning our porches whole day,” Ishtaq, a local resident, said.
Executive Engineer, R&B Department, Doda, Bhushan Thusoo, said, “Road-widening work on the 4-km stretch has been started and almost 30 per cent of the work has been done. Hopefully, the project will be completed before December.”
Doda MLA Shakti Raj Parihar said, “This road project was sanctioned under the Central Road Fund with an estimate cost of Rs 8 crore after our continuous efforts. It’s a crucial project which directly benefits thousands of people living in remote villages and I hope the executing agency will complete the project on time.”
