3 weeks on, Thural village road still unusable, residents protest

Hundreds of residents of Challaha village near Thural staged a protest on Wednesday against the poor condition of roads in the area. They said the Thural-Dagera road, damaged by heavy rains on August 26, has not yet been restored despite repeated requests to the Public Works Department (PWD).

Villagers warned of continuing their protest if the department failed to repair the stretch, which was washed away during rains and flash floods. They stressed that the road is a lifeline for daily commuters, including schoolchildren, yet remains unusable even after three weeks.

Agitated residents told mediapersons that they had approached the PWD, local MLA and other authorities, but no steps had been taken. “We repaired a small portion ourselves just to allow pedestrians and children to pass,” said villager Rakesh Kumar.

The villagers and panchayat representatives said they had repeatedly met the Executive Engineer, PWD Bhawarna, but their pleas went unheard. Even after the local MLA directed officials to repair the road nearly 20 days ago, no progress was made.

Residents said the inaction reflects negligence on the part of the authorities and vowed to intensify their agitation until the road is restored.