Solan residents demand footpath along highway

Tribune News Service

Solan, November 12

Residents of ward numbers 13 and 14 in the Solan Municipal Corporation have threatened to boycott the next year’s Assembly poll if a pedestrian path connecting the newly built four-lane highway is not constructed by the National Highways Authority of India executing the project.

Led by Deputy Mayor Rajiv Kaura, the residents have been demanding construction of a footpath as the four-laning of the highway has disrupted the pedestrian path connecting the two wards.

The elderly, children and women have been facing problems in crossing the road after an underpass was constructed, as they are forced to immediately take the road, where there is a heavy rush of vehicles.

A delegation of the Residents’ Welfare Society, Housing Board colony, the Kamal Orchards Residents’ Welfare Society and the Kleen Sewa Samiti, have decided to meet the CM to press for their demand.

Deputy Mayor Rajiv Kaura said they had met

the Deputy Commissioner, Solan, too, and requested for a solution to the problem. However, the meeting did not yield any result.

Peeved at this indifference towards their genuine demand, the residents have now decided to boycott the next year’s Assembly poll and initiate an agitation.

“No pedestrian path has been set aside after construction of the four-lane. A slip road should be constructed to provide the residents a convenient approach to the highway,” rued Kaura.

Balwinder Singh, in charge, GRI Infraprojects, the firm that did four-laning, said, “Provision of a pedestrian path was neither in the scope of the project nor was their mandate. The local administration is supposed to provide this facility to the residents.”

Ajay Yadav, SDM, Solan, said the problem pertained to a mere 20-metre patch of land near the Saproon Chowk. Since the land on the left side was landslide-prone, the focus had shifted towards the right side to construct a slip road to facilitate the residents of ward numbers 13 and 14.

“The land at the said junction belongs to the Railways as well as the state government. The case will be moved before the Railways to acquire 4-5 biswa. Since provision of utilities is the mandate of the National Highways Authority of India, the detailed project report of this road-widening project has been sought from them to work out how this slip road can be constructed,” the SDM said.

The issue concerns a population of about 1 lakh and efforts are afoot to sort out the problem. The Railways had earlier expressed reluctance to allow acquisition of their land, said the SDM.

Elderly inconvenienced

The elderly are facing problems in crossing the road. They are forced to immediately take the road, where there is a rush of vehicles.