Road to Sundernagar nightmare for commuters

Mahesh Chander Sharma

Sundernagar, July 26

A patch of National Highway Number 21 between Bhawana to Sundernagar has been giving a lot of trouble to thousands of commuters who pass through this 8-km long patch.

Local residents said trouble started about two years ago when the four-laning project on this patch was started by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

While starting the work the NHAI neglected maintenance of this road. As a result, the condition of this road has gone from bad to worst. The road is full of potholes, debris, and at some places it seems like a nullah and at others there is no trace of the road.

The rainy season is also causing trouble as loose earth brought by the rainwater has accumulated on the road posing a risk to motorists. Everyday many tilted vehicles can be spotted on this road and road accidents happen frequently due to the poor condition of the road.

Local residents have raised a voice a number of times to improve the condition of this road stretch.

It was further told by many residents living along this patch that in Mandi district, there were three Cabinet ministers, two Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and many vice-chairmen of different boards in the present Congress-led government and all passed through this road frequently, but they hardly bothered about the condition of road.

In the past, the district administration had asked the NHAI to improve the condition of the road in the given time-frame, failing which it would initiate legal action.

Recently, the Sundernagar SDM had issued a similar direction to the NHAI to improve its condition within two days or face legal action. But the condition is still the same.

Interestingly, the District Administration has not booked the NHAI till now for the bad condition of the road. Even today many vehicles are seen stranded on this patch due to the poor condition of the road. Residents demanded legal action against the NHAI. They said it was responsible for all the accidents occurring on this patch.