Potli farmers lose access to fields, seek underpass on Ambala-Shamli highway

Deputy Commissioner Preeti held a meeting with farmers of Potli village and officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Yamunanagar on Tuesday. During the meeting, the farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait group) state president Ratan Mann and district president Subhash Gurjar, demanded restoration of an old village road by constructing an underpass on the under-construction Ambala–Shamli highway at Potli village.

The Deputy Commissioner directed the NHAI officials to reconsider the farmers’ demand and examine all technical aspects to arrive at a viable solution to their problem.

Appealing to the farmers to cooperate in the development of the area, she said that road construction was a crucial component of regional development.

The highway will ensure faster transportation and also create new employment opportunities for the surrounding areas, she added.

She further directed Radaur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Narender Kumar to explore and identify a suitable solution to address the farmers’ concerns. Subhash Gurjar, district president of the BKU, said the Deputy Commissioner had assured the farmers that an appropriate decision would be taken after finding a practical way to resolve the issue. He stated that a three-yard (approximately 16-ft-wide) road had existed in the revenue records of Potli village since 1952. However, he added, the road had been completely closed by the highway authorities as no underpass or crossing had been provided.

He said that the road earlier connected agricultural fields across a large area, but farmers had now lost access due to the absence of a crossing on the new highway.

Radaur SDM Narender Kumar, District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) Dr Manoj Kumar, Yadwinder Kamboj, Potli village sarpanch Baljeet Singh, Gurnam Singh, Devender and other villagers were also present at the meeting.