Sanoti-Churag road in Mandi in poor state

Dipender Manta

Mandi, October 15

The poor condition of the Sanoti-Churag link road under the Karsog Assembly constituency in Mandi district has irked residents of Churag village. They have been urging the Public Works Department to repair this road for better road connectivity in the region.

Toyadhar Sharma, a resident of Churag village, said, “This road is a lifeline for local residents of Churag. It serves as a vital connecting link to the main market of Sanoti and also connects Churag to the state highways of Shimla, Mandi and Rampur, respectively.”

“This road is used by hundreds of villagers daily for commuting and around 500 vehicles run on the said road. Most of the important public offices, schools and hospitals are all connected via the said road,” he added.

“It is a 900-m road, which is in bad condition. A major part of the road is owned by the Public Works Department and the remaining (nearly 300 meters) is on the Abadi Deh Land. The condition of the said link road has worsened over the years but the road has not been repaired for many years, citing inadequate funds,” he said.

Santosh Kumari, Pradhan, Gram Panchayat, Churag, said, “The poor condition of this road is a major issue for area residents. We raised this issue with the PWD authorities but to no avail. We also raised this issue with Karsog MLA Hira Lal, who provided us a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh for maintenance.”

“We urge the PWD authorities to do repair work of this road to ensure better connectivity to the area residents,” she added. Efforts to contact the XEN, PWD, Karsog, went futile as he did not respond to phone calls.