Country roads of Punjab poor cousins of state highways

Country roads in Punjab continue to be the poor cousins of highways in the state, with commuters facing harrowing times during their daily travel across the state. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced in his Independence Day speech at Faridkot that the state had approved a budget for work on 19,000 km of roads in rural areas after the monsoons. But in the context of the Centre recently scrapping Rs 800 crore worth of road projects in rural Punjab, along with the Centre withholding grants worth more than Rs 9,000 crore under Rural Development Fund (RDF), analysts say the target may be difficult to reach.

The figures are important in the context that a bulk of the RDF was spent on repairing and maintaining roads in rural areas. The situation arose after the central government proposed reducing RDF to a maximum of 2 per cent of MSP against the earlier rate of 3 per cent. More than 5,000 km of rural roads are unfit for normal travel or badly damaged. People are pleading for at least the potholes to be filled. Projects for new roads are hanging largely because of delays in land acquisition and related procedural requirements.

Particularly affected are the roads in the border areas of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran. CM Mann asked the Centre earlier this year to release at least Rs 9,000 crore as RDF and market fee. The government has also approached the Supreme Court. The state argues that RDF was paramount to maintaining and upgrading rural infrastructure. More importantly, the amount was needed for repaying loans taken for developing infrastructure.

GROUND REPORT FROM STATE

Pitiable Ludhiana roads

Situated 25 km from Ludhiana, Doraha was once a town on the Mughal trade caravan route. It was an important stop on the Grand Trunk Road for neighbouring areas. Crossing the town, the roads linking Rampur and Begowal; Jatana and Doraha; Jaspalon and Rupalon; Mehdoodan and Balala; Khaira and Mehdoodan; Doraha and Araichan; and Jaipura and Chankoin continue to be a nightmare for daily travellers. The roads are a virtual hell after it rains, like during the ongoing monsoon season.

The stretch from Gurthali Pul (bridge) towards Raul Pul and Gurditpura village makes movement virtually impossible for two-wheelers and four-wheelers. The Daburji, Bilaspur, Buani, Raul, and Giddri link roads are no better. “The jerks are unbearable at night for commuters, especially the sick and the aged,” said Karamjeet Singh of village Jaipura. Pawandeep Bulara from village Jugiana said, “No one is listening to us, and it has been years.”

Interestingly, even the four-laning project on the Neelon-Doraha stretch, initiated 12 years ago, has failed to see the light of day. The Dehlon stretch connecting Dharaur, Tibba, Natt, Pawa Khakat, and Jugiana roads are no better.

Malerkotla roads no better

A sizable number of roads connecting rural localities in Malerkotla in neighbouring Ludhiana district have been rendered non-motorable due to potholes and erosion of berms. Slushy, muddy waters combined with rains have compounded the problems during the rains. The bad road network needing immediate government attention includes Dehliz Kalan Road, Lohatbaddi-Pohir, Raikot, Dehlon-Pakhowal, Dehlon-Halwara, Jandali, Kanganwal-Sandaur, and Kup-Malaud.

Poor drainage of rainwater and stagnation of wastewater from localities situated higher along the roads have been identified as the major reasons for the current situation. Legislator Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra claimed that adequate grants had already been released for the upgradation of roads in the region and necessary repairs or reconstruction of all roads would be completed before the conclusion of the ensuing term of the Vidhan Sabha.

Bumpy Doaba

In the Phillaur town of Jalandhar district, the road to Ganna Pind and another towards Nangal village have not been repaired for the past several years. Village roads in Goraya are no better, nor are the ones from Nagar to Palan village. Former SAD MLA Baldev Khera said, “Neither the Congress nor AAP has attended to the subject of easy travel for commuters as we had done. We laid special stress on maintaining village roads. All AAP claims on developmental works in villages are hollow.”

In Hoshiarpur district, villages near the state highways enjoy smooth travel. A little ahead in the interiors, the picture is dismal. The road from Chabbewal to the historical 350-year-old Rajni Mata Mandir is in a dilapidated condition despite a heavy rush of pilgrims. The road from Hoshiarpur city to Takhni via Ajjowal and Maingrowal has not been re-laid for a long time. All roads leading towards villages in the periphery of Hariana town are tattered.

Roads in the rural belt of Nawanshahr district are definitely among the worst in the state, especially near Balachaur. The stretch from Balachaur town to Bhaddi paints a grim picture. BJP leader Rajwinder Lucky said, “While the monsoon is at its peak, the government is repairing roads in our assembly segment.”

600 km of roads need repair in Fazilka

The Road Improvement Programme has earmarked 699 km of rural roads for immediate repairs in the district. Work has been pending since 2022-2025. The worst-hit are the border villages where roads damaged due to floods in 2023 are yet to be repaired or re-laid. According to official sources, 49 km of roads were damaged during the floods, but none have been constructed so far despite the fact that the Mandi Board Department had prepared an estimate of about Rs 7 crore and sent it to higher authorities for approval but to no avail.

The affected villages are Jhangar Bhaini, Retewali Bhaini, Mahatam Nagar, Teje Rohela, Chak Rohela, Walleshah Hithar, Gatti Number 1, Dhani Sadda Singh, Dona Nanka, Dona Sikandari, Mohar Sona, Mohar Khiva, and Muhar Jamsher. Most of these villages are across the Sutlej river, and during floods, the road connection with most of the villages is snapped. AAP MLA Narinder Pal Singh Sawna claimed that most of the roads have been relaid or repaired, and the remaining shall be completed in the coming six months. He said there was no dearth of funds.

Unattended border roads in Amritsar and Tarn Taran

The road from Khasa, a border town known for its distillery, to Bhakna village in Amritsar district has been crying out for attention for the past four years. Each year, the condition of the road has worsened. A stretch near Chak Mukand village is now mostly filled with puddles, making it nearly impassable. This road is a vital link for dozens of villages, connecting them to the city for medical and educational services.

In another example of poor infrastructure, the road from Bhakna to Dhand is also in extremely bad condition. Deep potholes can be seen every few metres, making travel very difficult and unsafe. Even the Amritsar-Jhabal highway, a toll road, is not spared. Several stretches have either been damaged or flooded with sewage water. The top layer of the road near Fatahpur village has been completely washed away, forcing commuters to endure a rough and bumpy ride. Near Bohru village, an entire lane is blocked due to flooding caused by sewage overflow.

Residents feel that roads in the Mand area of Tarn Taran district on the Pakistan border have not gotten due attention from the current government. Sheikhchakk has been housing a pool of stagnant water for more than eight years. The drainage system here has not been corrected, and the area has a collection of wastewater from nearby houses. Khadoor Sahib MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura did get some repair work done; however, things are back to the same during the ongoing monsoons. Link roads from Chohla Sahib are broken. Those connecting Ruriwala, Chamba Kalan, and Kambo villages are the worst. Villagers on this roughly eight-km stretch have to use an alternative road through another village route (Dhunn).

Pain of Ferozepur villages

It has been more than two years since the devastating floods wreaked havoc in border villages, causing extensive damage to link roads and rural roads. However, to date, the state government has not been able to repair most of them, leaving thousands of villagers to struggle with pothole-infested roads beside broken bridges. Ironically, while the previously damaged roads are yet to be repaired, the Sutlej is again in spate with the likelihood of a flood-like situation again.

Earlier, during the floods in July-August 2023, over 46 link roads spanning nearly 29 km were badly damaged, and an estimate of Rs 3.52 crore was reportedly sent to the government for their repairs. Owing to an alleged scarcity of funds made available to PWD, many of these roads still remain in bad condition even today. One glaring example is the bridge near Hazara Singh Wala village, which connects 14 panchayats across 20 villages. After it was damaged during the floods, it was temporarily set up again with help from donations collected by local people; however, it has seen no repair work since.

Similarly, the roads leading to Jalloke, Gatti Rajoke, and Kamale Wala remain pockmarked with large potholes, making daily commuters suffer. Villagers said that despite repeated pleas, the administration has only partially repaired some stretches. Data from the Public Works Department indicates that approximately Rs 62.43 lakh has been spent in Ferozepur, Mallanwala, and Mamdot areas, while Rs 7.2 lakh was utilised in Guruharsahai for repair and maintenance. However, local villagers and daily commuters believe that these efforts are inadequate and patchy.

Punjab Singh, sarpanch of Kamale Wala village, said that whenever the Sutlej floods, their village is among the first to bear the brunt. “Even today, the road to our village remains damaged, and people face a lot of problems. The government should ensure permanent roads in border villages so that residents don’t suffer every year,” said Punjab.

When contacted, Suresh Kumar, Superintendent Engineer of PWD, said that the department had prepared estimates and sent them to the government. “Whatever funds we received have been used for repairs, and the rest of the work will also be completed soon,” said Kumar. Ranbir Singh Bhullar, MLA, said that a lot of repair work has already been carried out, while denying there was any shortage of funds. “It is an ongoing job, and continuous efforts are made to carry out repairs from time to time,” he said.

Sangrur’s share of road woes

A cross-section of sarpanches contacted by The Tribune team for their views on the condition of rural roads in their areas gave a mixed response. The sarpanch of Changal village, Gyan Singh, said that from Hareri village to Changal village, the roads need immediate repair. He also said that the condition of the road from Changal village to Badrukhan village, which is a single road, is in bad shape.

The sarpanch of Balad Kalan village, Gurpreet Singh, said a small stretch of one-and-a-half km on the Balad Kalan-Samana road had been brought to the notice of the Sangrur MLA, who has assured immediate action. A one-km stretch from Bhattiwal Kalan to Bhattiwal Khurd village had not been attended to despite repeated requests by the villagers.

Sangrur MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj said, “All rural roads in her assembly constituency are in good shape, except a two-and-a-half-km-long stretch from Turi village to Majhi village, which is in bad shape, and this stretch falls under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana. Two new roads, from Bharaj village to Diwangarh village and in the Bharaj village, have been approved by the government, and work has started on these roads.”

Majority of roads in rural Gurdaspur need repair

Majority of roads in the border district of Gurdaspur need repairs even as the district administration claims that tenders for their maintenance and upkeep have already been floated and work will commence soon. Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said, “Upkeep of rural roads is done by either PWD or Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board, also called Punjab Mandi Board. We will be focusing on the roads that need immediate repair.”

One road that will require the attention of the agencies is the one that branches off from the city’s Jail Road and enters several villages before culminating in Dorangla, near the International Border (IB). This thoroughfare runs parallel to the Mustafabad minor canal and cracks and develops potholes every year during the monsoon season. This phenomenon has been going on for the last several years. A part of this road also leads to the Keshopur wetland, one of India’s biggest wetlands. Incidentally, all the roads leading to the wetland are in a dilapidated condition, following which there has been a considerable drop in the number of eco-tourists visiting the area.

The other road that is extensively used is the one that leads from Ranjit Bagh to Sahowala village. Roads in the Dinanagar Assembly segment too need attention.

Inputs with Lovleen  Bains, Mahesh Sharma, Deepkamal Kaur, Sushil Goyal, Praful Chander Nagpal, Manmeet Singjh Gill, Gurbaxpuri, Anirudh Gupta, Sushil Goyal and Ravi Dhaliwal