Panzan (Budgam), May 4: Taking cognizance of the Greater Kashmir news report about the dilapidated condition of Panzan-Budgam road, the authorities have undertaken the repair work on the stretch.
 “The patch work has been started on the road and within a month the macadamization will begin,” said the Executive Engineer Roads and Buildings Chadoora, Nazir Ahmad Tak, who now has been transferred from Chadoora division.

BACKGROUND
 The road connecting Panzan village of Chadoora with Budgam via Gudsathoo was in a pathetic condition.
 According to the residents of the area, the three kilometer stretch of Panzan-Budgam road which passes via Gudsathoo and Ichigam was in complete shambles due to which the commuters are facing tremendous hardships. “The road has scores of potholes which many a times has resulted in mishaps in the area.”
 “The people travelling in cars on the road stretch have now started developing backaches and other orthopedic problems,” the locals said, adding that the vehicles were also suffering extensive damages due to which their maintenance cost had also gone up. 
 The locals said that the pedestrians were also facing huge inconvenience, particularly during the rains. “During rains, the potholes get filled with water, making the pedestrian movement very difficult,” the locals said, adding that during summer, huge columns of dust arise from the road due to which the people suffer from several respiratory disorders.   
 “The Panzan area falls under the jurisdiction of Charar-e-Sharief constituency and the nearby Gudsathoo is part of Budgam constituency. This is the reason why administration is not taking up the work as they have some technical and political problems,” the residents said adding that due to these issues, the people were suffering immensely. 
 “We appeal to the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah to come to our rescue,” said Feroz Ahmad who is Sarpanch of Devbagh village and a driver as well.
 "We have to travel from Chadoora to Budgam everyday and the vehicles which ply on this road develop frequent snags due to the dilapidated road condition,” Feroz Ahmad added.

R&B Xen’s Assurance
 Executive Engineer Road and Buildings division Chadoora, Nazir Ahmad Tak had assured that the work on the road would begin soon. “The macadamization on the road stretch will be undertaken by May end,” he told Greater Kashmir.
 “The delay was caused as NABARD didn’t approve our previous proposal worth Rs 5 crore. Then we had to seek assistance from 13th Finance project, who provided us an amount of Rs 40 lakh. We have spent around Rs 35 lakh and have completed blacktopping of road from Chadoora to Panzan,” Nazir Ahmad added.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 4 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 4 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 5 May 2012 00:00:00 IST