Dharamsala ward watch Bhagsunag: Parking woes, incomplete roads irk residents

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, February 14

The lack of public parking places, no road connectivity in many areas and leaking sewerage pipes are concerns of the residents of Bhagsunag, Ward Number 2, Dharamsala.

Residents of the area say since Bhagsunag was a prominent tourist place in Dharamsala, they have been demanding multistorey public parking in the area. However, the administration and government has failed to redress their demand for multistorey parking.

Ashwani Bhamba, president of hotel and restaurant association of Kangra, who is also a resident of the Bhagsunag area said, “There was a small patch of land in the heart of Bhagsunag that was presently being used for parking. On paper, it was a forest land. We had requested the administration and government since this land does not have any tree and is located in the heart of urban area, a multistorey parking complex can be built here. This would help ease the parking situation in the area, he said.

Vipin Nehria, a hotelier from Bhagsunag, said a new sewerage was laid in the area about two years ago. “However, in many area the sewerage was leaking.

In some areas sewerage chambers have collapsed and sewage waste was flowing on roads. The leaking sewage and stench emanating from it was nuisance for locals as well as tourists coming to the area. The Jal Shakti Department should immediately rectify the damage to sewerage,” he said.

Nitin Sharma, a resident of the area, said many areas of upper Bhagsunag and Dharamkot do not have road connectivity. During the previous tenure of the Congress party, work was started to connect Dharamkot with Bhasunag. However, the project could not be completed. The government should provide road connectivity to the upper areas of Bhagsunag and Dharamkot. It would also improve tourism potential in the area,” he said.

The residents of Bhagsunag also complain of non-completion of road connecting Bhagsunag with the Indrunag area.

The road project has been hanging fire for the past more than 10 years. Vikas Nehria, a local, said about 80 per cent work on the road has been completed. However, the remaining working has been pending for the last about 10 years. “If the road is completed it can ease traffic situation in Mcleodganj and Bhagsunag which generally witness long traffic snarls during peak tourist season.

Onkar Nehria, former Mayor of Dharamsala who is also resident of Bhagsunag, said a lot of development has been done in the area under the Smart City Dharamsala project. However, development is ongoing work and remaining works would also be completed in near future.