Taking cognisance of a story by this news paper on the bad condition of recently macadamised Azad Gunj-Drangbal road, the officials of the PMGSY department Tuesday said the road will be repaired wherever it is damaged.
The department also said that it is the contractor's responsibility to ensure road stretch is free from any wear and tear at least up to five years of its completion.
"The locals of the area should not worry about the damage caused to newly constructed road. The contractor, as per the allotment contract is responsible for any damage to the road," said Shah Jahan Muhammad.
He said: "Besides contractors responsibility, the department is duty bound to ensure that people don't suffer because of the road condition".
The work on the Azad Gunj- Drangbal road was recently carried out by the PMGSY department. After three months of completion of this 8 km road, the entire road stretch suffered massive damage during the recent snowfall.
The locals accused the executing agency and the contractor of using low quality material which resulted in its damage. "Leave the clause of the contract aside, the department should launch enquiry over the charges of inferior material been used in the work. The entire work is worth crores of rupees as such the department should fix responsibility on the contractor, if it is proved that he has used inferior material during the execution of work" said Farooq Ahmad, a resident of old town Baramulla.
The Azad Gunj – Baramulla road is an important road which connects Drangbal with the old town. Following rise in population, scores of people from congested area of old town have shifted to Drangbal area during the last two decades, which has now become a full-fledged residential area.
However, the dilapidated road condition forced the residents of area, to lodge protests against the administration. It was after their sustained protests that the authorities decided to develop the road.
Surprisingly, just three months after the work on the road was completed, the road developed potholes at various places and suffered damage throughout the road stretch by the snowfall.
