Jawalamukhi residents seek bridge over damaged road

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Dharamsala, January 4

Residents of the Khundian area of the Jawalamukhi Assembly constituency in Kangra district led by former BJP legislator Ravinder Ravi held a protest against the dilapidated condition of a road. They submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Nipun Jindal demanding immediate installation of a bridge over the damaged road.

The protesters alleged that the Nagrota Bagwan-Sihorwala (Bhalet)-Sujanpur road was built at a cost of Rs 62 crore about two years ago. However, a portion of the road near Laharu Namak village, about 1.5 km from Khudian, was washed away due to flashfloods last year. They said that the authorities concerned could have opened the road to traffic by installing a bridge over the damaged portion.

They alleged that even after five months, the road had not been opened to traffic. Due to the damaged road, thousands of residents of Dehru, Dola Kharyana, Thil, Pukhru Lagru and Hardeeppur gram panchayats had to travel 20 km to 25 km extra to reach Khudian.

The protesters said, “The road is vital for local people as in its present condition, an ambulance can’t reach the area to pick up a patient. Even schoolchildren, old people, expectant mothers and persons with disabilities have to walk a few kilometres to board a bus.” They urged the Deputy Commissioner to get a bridge installed over the damaged road at the earliest.