Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Aug 29: Three years after being dug up to lay underground sewerage pipes under the AMRUT Scheme, some roads in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district have been left with mud on the surface, much to the dismay and peril of the locals.
The roads were dug up at a cost of roughly 17 crore rupees as part of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in early 2018. As part of the project, the Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED) dug up dozens of major roads throughout the main town, including KP Road, Gulshanabad Road, Sarnal, Qazi Mohalla, Mehman Mohalla, Cheeni Chowk, Malaknag, and others.
After receiving multiple public complaints, the R&B Department eventually macadamized some of these roads. However, other interior roads, such as Kadipora, Sarnal, Mehman Mohalla, and Cheeni Chowk, remain in shambles, with departments blaming each other. “The roads were strewn with many potholes and masses of rubbish for more than a year and were only fixed after repeated requests. Some roads, on the other hand, were left unfinished, much to the district of the general public,” Mehraj Ud Din, a local said.
Many people are injured every time it rains, according to residents, after tumbling over these wet roads. Locals argue that these roads are a constant source of dust, affecting the health of commuters and residents.
“We have been asking the authorities to restore these roads for more than two years, but no one has listened to us. Every time it rains, someone is hurt, but the authorities appear unconcerned.” Burhan Ahmad, another local said.
According to a UEED officer who spoke to Excelsior, his department has already reimbursed R&B for the damages. “They are scheduled to start blacktopping right now. Our department has already paid them for the damages,” he said, adding that the lax attitude from the R&B department caused the delay in macdamistaion.
Hilal Shah, Chairman Municipal Committee Anantnag, and Javeed Ahmad, Assistant Executive Engineer for Roads and Buildings, didn’t responded.
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