Driving on dilapidated Dehra roads a nightmare

Lalit Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 13

The roads in the Dehra Assembly constituency are in a pitiable condition. Despite the fact that Dehra subdivision now has representations in Minister for Industries and Transport Bikram Thakur and Independent MLA Hoshiar Singh, who is considered close to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the condition of the roads in the subdivision has not improved. The Dehra area is also part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency that is represented by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur.

A visit to the area reveals that the condition of the Dhaliara-Dadasiba road that connects the Dehra area with the Talwara area of Punjab is in a poor state. Due to monsoonal rains, some stretches have got converted into small ponds of water.

Damaged in rains

• The Dhaliara-Dadasiba road that connects the Dehra area with the Talwara area of Punjab is in a poor state. Due to monsoonal rains, some stretches have got converted into small ponds of water
• The condition of the Dehra-Haripur road is also poor despite the fact that
• Rs10 crore was sanctioned for it through the CRF

Surjeet Singh, a resident of Chanor village who runs a confectionary shop along the road, told The Tribune that the condition of the road in their area had been poor for the past many years. “At times, the department repairs the road in patches but the repairs get washed away due the rains. We have met local politicians many times regarding the poor condition of the roads but no action has been taken,” he said.

Ramesh Kumar, another resident of the area, said that during the monsoons it becomes dangerous to drive two-wheelers on the road, as one does not know how deep the potholes were.

Sources said that several crores of rupees had been spent on the Dhaliara-Dadasiba road from the Central Road Fund (CRF) in the recent past. However, the road again started wearing out after some time.

The condition of the Dehra-Haripur road is also poor despite the fact that Rs 10 crore was sanctioned for it through the CRF. It becomes unfit for vehicular movement during the rainy season.

Sukrit Sagar, a BJP leader from Dehra, has been raising the issue of the poor conditions of roads in the area for quite some time. He said that the matter had also been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and the latter had assured him of hold an inquiry into the poor construction of road.

Executive Engineer, PWD Dehra, Ajay Sharma was not available for comments despite repeated calls on his mobile phone.

Chief Engineer, PWD, Sanjeev Sharma at Dharamsala, said that he would send an SE-rank officer to the area to inquiry into poor condition of roads in Dehra area.