Bandipora, Sep 11: The residents of model village Shahgund in Sonawari sub-division of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, are up in arms against the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department for leaving the macadamisation of the road incomplete.
The villagers said that they were happy when the R&B department initiated the macadamisation work on the Sopore-Hajin road, some time ago.
“They macadamised the road from Hajin to Gundjahangir and on the other end, they macadamised it up to Baghat,” Abdul Rashid Dar, a local said.
But, he added, “The main stretch, leading to Shahgund village and market, was deliberately ignored for reasons known only to the concerned authorities.”
The villagers said the roads of both Panchayats A and B of the village were also in dilapidated condition.
“There is no sign of any work being done to repair the roads here,” they said.
The villagers said that they were suffering “immensely” due to the poor condition of the roads. “We can’t open our shops, as the dust from the road chokes us. Those living on and along the road end get suffocated by dust,” another villager alleged.
They said the road, which was filled with gravel and stones, posed a health hazard and a risk of injury to the locals.
“Stones stuck under the tyres of vehicles pose risk to both commuters as well as pedestrians. A child was hit in the chest a few days ago by a stone and had to be taken to hospital,” Abdul Majeed, a local said. Another villager claimed that he too had been hit by a stone, while walking on the road.
They said that elderly people and children also faced difficulties while travelling on the road.
“The roads have been under repair for three years but this village has seen no development. Whatever work is happening, it’s at a snail’s pace,” the villagers rued.
The villagers appealed to the Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora and the Executive Engineer of the R&B department to address their grievance and resume work on the road to macadamise the stretch leading to the village as well.
