When the authorities constructed a road connecting the remote village of Muqam Peeran with Pathribal in this border town two years ago, villagers heaved a sigh of relief. But soon they realized the project was a “complete wastage of resources.”
There was no mechanism put in place to divert the gushing stream which cuts through middle of the road, said a villager. Within days, the condition of the road went from bad to worse and the villagers were back to the old days of miseries and sufferings.
An official said the 4-km road stretch was constructed at Rs 1.54 crore under the PMGSY, to provide connectivity to Pathribal inhabited by more than 2,000 people.
However, the official said it came to the light later that the department did not consider diverting the water from the stream which bisects the road in the middle.
“The entire investment has gone down the drain,” said the official.
Muneer Ahmad Khan, a local Sarpanch said the road was meant to provide connectivity to the people of border village. “The purpose hasn’t been served at all because the executing agency did not bother to find solution for the stream which flows in the middle of the road,” Khan said.
He said a small culvert to divert the water could have solved the problem. “But unfortunately the authorities didn’t bother to visit the area and address the problem before allowing construction of the road,” he said. “It seems they had forgotten to construct the culvert even after assessing the condition of the road.”
The vehicles ply up to the stream and people, like yesteryears, are forced to cross the stream on foot. “No vehicle goes beyond the stream. In the past many vehicles have got stuck in it,” said another local.
He said the department instead of constructing a culvert had laid two pipes on the road which did not serve any purpose as the water flows over the pipes.
The locals said in case of any emergency, people face lot of difficulties. “We have to ferry patients on our shoulders up to the stream to take them to hospital,” said the local.
Assistant Executive Engineer, PMGSY, Tariq Ahmad Saraf said the department was planning to built a causeway over the stream.
“The water flow in the stream is high at this time. We will likely build the causeway in August,” said Saraf.