13 yrs on, road to Nurpur villages awaits repair

Rajiv Mahajan

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Nurpur, November 16

The Harnora Gharat-Hatli Jawalan-Bhanodu rural link road, which was built more than 13 years ago, is crying for attention.

In all these years, the state Public Works Department (PWD) has not undertaken repair or patch work even once. The route is used by residents of various villages in the area on a regular basis.

The road is full of potholes and dirt, making travel riskier for motorists. Residents said the road was built after many protests. However, its condition had turned from bad to worse.

According to information, the 4.67-km road, along with the newly built bridges on Jabbar and Harad rivulets, were inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in 2007, and following the demand of the locals, it was named after Sepoy Joginder Singh (27) of Assam Rifles, hailing from Hatli Jawalan, who had lost his life fighting militants in Assam in 1997. The construction was funded by NABARD.

However, owing to official apathy, the road is in a pitiable condition. The bitumen surface has come off and huge potholes have developed at several places.

Keshav Kumar, a resident of Hatli Jawalan, said travelling on this stretch had become a nightmare for them, especially during night hours.

Prakash Dhiman, another resident, said they had approached the PWD authorities several times, but no steps had been taken so far.

Pratap Chand, pradhan of Hatli Jawalan, said panchayat representatives had submitted a resolution to the PWD last year seeking immediate repair of the road and had also met senior officials thrice, but all they received were hollow assurances.

Satveer Singh, panchayat up-pradhan, said the road was the lifeline of at least six villages. However, it had turned into a khud.

Netar Singh Rana, a former pradhan of Hatli Jawalan gram panchayat who had struggled for the construction of this road for eight years, alleged that substandard material was used at the time of the construction and potholes developed soon after the work was over.

Sukhwinder Singh, Assistant Engineer, PWD subdivision, Suliali (Nurpur), said the department had awarded a tender for the repair and patch work and the contractor had been directed to start work at the earliest.