Mandi Ward Watch Palace Colony-2: Poor road connectivity, lack of parking facilities irk residents
Dipender Manta
Mandi, March 1
Residents of Palace Colony-2 ward in Mandi Municipal Corporation have been grappling with poor road connectivity, lack of parking lots and embankments for water streams, and deplorable condition of pedestrian paths.
Sanjay Mandyal, a lawyer and activist, who is a resident of the ward, told The Tribune the councillor and MC authorities must address these issues in the ward for the convenience of residents.
The lack of parking facility is a major source of inconvenience for residents, he says. The road leading to Badi-Gumanu and Koon ka Tar from Zonal hospital comes under this ward and has been in a poor condition for the past many years.
The 5-km stretch is in urgent need of repair, Mandyal says. Due to lack of proper embankment for water streams in the area, the road gets damaged frequently.
Lack of funds
The issue of having embankments constructed for water streams in this ward is under consideration. Due to lack of funds, we have not been able to materialise our plans. Efforts are being made to get funds to channel the water streams. —Suman Thakur, Councillor
The road is used daily by a large number of commuters to travel to and from Mandi town and must be urgently repaired, he says.
“The bridge at Ganpati temple is also in a shambles. Ganpati nullah, a water stream located in the vicinity of the zonal hospital, is without a proper embankment. The situation gets so bad that water enters the hospital premises during the monsoon,” says Mandyal.
“A road has been proposed to be built for this ward via the Victoria bridge but work on it has not been started so far. There is an urgent need of this road because residents of Khaliyar opposite this ward have to travel 7 km to reach here. So, a road bridge from Khaliyar to Badi-Gumanu over the Beas must be built to reduce travel distance between Khaliyar and Palace Colony 2,” he adds.
Another resident says: “A leprosy colony under the Health Department is also located in this ward. A sewage treatment plant of Mandi is also built here. A road was being constructed to connect the area with road facility via the Ravidas colony, but it has not been completed yet.”
He adds: “This road should be constructed in time to ensure better road connectivity. Work on a sports complex on Health Department’s land in the area has also not begun. The MC authorities and local MLA Anil Sharma should make collective efforts to get the complex constructed.”
Anup Mehan, another resident of the ward, says there aren’t sufficient number of streetlights in the area. Pedestrian paths are in a shambles and not wide enough, he says. The toilets near zonal hospital have been in a poor condition for the past many years.
Ward councillor Suman Thakur says the toilets near the zonal hospital will be demolished in the next few days and new ones constructed.
“The issue of having embankments constructed for water streams in this ward is under consideration. Due to lack of funds, we have not been able to materialise our plans. Efforts are being made to get funds to channel water streams,” she quips.
Suman says official process had been initiated to construct a parking lot in the ward near Bari school and a park will also be developed in the area.
“Ward committees have been constituted to take the opinion of residents regarding development issues. The ward has been divided into 10 sectors and after getting residents’ opinions, development works will be done in each sector as per their demands,” she adds.
