Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Thursday sought macadamisation of roads in various north Kashmir areas saying the dilapidated condition of the roads pose threat of fatalities besides hampering access of local people to respective district head quarters.
While expressing concern over dilapidated condition of roads in north Kashmir areas, the Party Member of Parliament from Baramulla Muhammad Akbar Lone said that everywhere in north Kashmir the condition of highways and link roads is paradox to what is being claimed by the government on ensuring improved road accessibility.
“The potholed roads narrate their stories themselves. The roads surfaces in north Kashmir are macadamized once and forgotten for decades. It just takes a few minutes of downpour to convert the entire road length in the region into cesspools. The roads pose immense threat to the wellbeing of people besides hampering accessibility of the local populace to adjoining villages and the respective district headquarters. A proper repairing and widening of these roads can avert tragic road accidents to a greater extent in Kashmir, but nothing substantial has been done so far to upgrade, repair and augment the road infrastructure in the region,” Lone said.
“Earlier the incumbent JK government had announced the launch of a ‘Macadamisation Program’ for the improvement of roads across Jammu and Kashmir and approved a program for 100 percent Macadamisation of all roads including 11,000 km of fair-weather roads, but unfortunately the Hauray-Naid Khai, Hyderbeg-Telegam,Pattan-Tangmarg, Zangram-Kunzar, Khanpeth-Sumbal apparently didn’t attract the attention of the committee announced to oversee the ‘Macadamisation Program’ for the improvement of roads across Jammu and Kashmir, leaving the people living along sides these stretches in utter despondency,” he said.
“I hope the local administration will rise from the slumber and expedite work on these crucial road stretches without any further delay. Having smooth connectivity will improve the economic condition of the people and alleviate their sufferings on different accounts. I impress upon the district administration to mitigate the suffering of the people and expedite the macadamisation process so that locals don’t have to suffer, any further delay will push the entire population to the wall,” he added.
Lone also urged the district administration to ensure availability of power and water supply in the Khai, Singpura, Khanpeth, Zangam areas. He impressed upon the administration to make dewatering stations in low lying falling under ‘Rakhs’ functional.
He said that the dewatering stations have been rendered dysfunctional due to the want of electricity, thus hampering the dewatering process in the underlying low lying areas from Dasilpura to Hygam. “The concerned department delegated with the job of dewatering in the hamlets has turned volt face to the problems faced by the locals.”
