Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 23: Notwithstanding continuous increase in number of pilgrims visiting the famous shrines of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi and Shri Shiv Khori in Reasi district, the Border Roads Organization (BRO) has maintained criminal negligence towards the roads leading to these shrines despite repeated requests by the State authorities. Now, as the administration has exhausted all the options for prevailing upon the agency to improve the condition of roads the issue has been brought to the notice of Union Home Secretary for his personal intervention.
According to the information available with EXCELSIOR, BRO is responsible for construction and maintenance of four major roads in Reasi district— Domail-Katra, Katra-Reasi, Reasi-Budhal and Reasi-Bhambla but their condition is pitiable despite the fact that more than 2000 vehicles carrying pilgrims of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine and Shri Shiv Khori Shrine are plying everyday on these roads.
The 28 kilometer Katra-Reasi road, which leads to Shri Shiv Khori Shrine besides other parts of the district, was taken up for widening more than two years back and the existing blacktopping was excavated and removed for fresh blacktopping. But no repair or blacktopping has been carried out till date, sources said, adding “the present condition of road is such that vehicles cannot ply even at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour because of potholes and unfinished surface”.
“Because of pitiable condition this road remains closed everyday for several hours and hundreds of vehicles get stranded at many places”, sources said, adding “intelligence agencies are constantly informing about high threat perception of terrorist attacks in areas around Katra and in such a situation having hundreds of vehicles stranded at one place provides ready target for any attack by anti-national elements”.
Similar is the condition of Domail-Katra road, which is used by thousands of vehicles carrying pilgrims to holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi. What to talk of road stretch beyond Country Inn Hotel up to Katra town, which has never received the focus of the BRO till date despite huge potholes on its surface, the condition of Domail-Country Inn road, which was widened few years back, has also worsened because of landslides. At several places, the road has also sunk because of the rains thereby indicating that no step was taken to stabilize the rocks along the road while carrying out widening works.
To utter surprise of district administration the BRO’s Incharge of Domail-Katra road when called by the Reasi district administration to express the reasons for messy state of affairs, expressed his inability to get the work started on the ground that the matter was stuck at the level of Director General BRO and Chief Engineer Sampark has also raised some technical queries on the project, sources said.
Chief Secretary, Mohd Iqbal Khandey during his visit to the Reasi district headquarter on April 30, 2013, had also expressed serious concern over the condition of Katra-Reasi road as well as damages on Domail-Katra stretch. However, he was assured by the BRO that the Katra-Reasi road will be completed within one month but even after the lapse of more than three months nothing has moved on ground, sources said.
As the administration has exhausted all its options for prevailing upon the BRO to complete the construction of the road in the wake of high security threat and huge inconvenience to the pilgrims and local passengers every day, the matter was brought to the notice of Union Home Secretary, Anil Goswami during his recent visit to the holy shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi.
When contacted, the District Development Commissioner Reasi, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary confirmed that the matter was brought to the notice of Union Home Secretary. “Chief Secretary is also seized of the issue and he has been pursuing the matter with the Union Government to ensure immediate start of work on Katra-Reasi road and repair of Domail-Katra stretch”, he informed.
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