Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Feb 6: Presenting bleak picture of rural road connectivity, all the roads leading to South Kashmir’s Tral town are strewn with deep ditches and potholes owing to Government’s failure to carry any repair work from last several years.
The locals said except eight-kilometer stretch of Tral-Cheskoot road, all the twelve roads that connect Tral town to the rest of the valley are dilapidated and they alleged that authorities have become infuriatingly good at wriggling out this requirement.
“The authorities are deliberately turning a blind eye towards our grievances. Look at our roads they look like swimming pools these days,” Shabir Ahmad, a local said. He explained there are about twelve roads that include Tral – Awantipora road via Dadsara, Awantipora- Awantipora via Navdal, Tral -Pannerjagaer, Tral Batnoor and Tral to Nagbal that connect the township to the rest of the valley but the roads are strewn with potholes and ditches which are as deep as 1-2 feet and are posing a threat to the life of commuters.
He further said the icy winters and heavy snowfall have worsened their situation as unprecedented puddles and potholes are hampering the movement of residents particularly students and patients. “If a person needs emergency medical intervention he will die enroute. It takes more than one hour for covering 15 minute journey. Even pedestrians cannot walk on these uneven roads. We have requested the authorities to ensure better civic amenities in the village, but to no avail,” he said.
MLA Tral, Mushtaq Ahmad when contacted said that the proposed repair work was delayed because of the five-month long unrest that Kashmir witnessed last year. “I agree there has not been any work on these roads from last several years but after I took charge I immediately pushed for the long pending demands”, he added.
“The main two roads, Tral- Awantipora via Dadsara and Tral- Awantipora via Navdal, were supposed to be completed this year and for that more than Rs. 5 crore are available with us but the situation that was prevailing in the Valley did not allow us to take up the construction work. Hopefully, we will start the construction in the month of March or April this year,” he added.
He said that Government has released abundant funds to carry development funds in Tral township. “Rs 35 crore has been sanctioned for Tral Satoora road, Tral Bucgoora Road has been put under PMGSY and indoor stadium has also been sanctioned for the Tral. Despite availability of funds the construction has not picked up as situation keeps getting out of hand,” the MLA said.
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