Waseem Ahmad
Srinagar, Sept 30: Commuters are having a tough time due to the dilapidated condition of a road in Goripora area in the outskirts of Srinagar city.
The blacktopping of the four Kilometers stretch of the road from Chonchun to Goripora by Roads and Buildings (R&B) department have been left midway last year and not been repaired till date, making commuters suffer.
The commuters have to face immense hardships as the road is dotted with big potholes and ditches, making walking and driving an ordeal. “We had to spend twice as much time on the roads. Because of poor roads, it takes us double the time to reach our destinations. The journey is unpleasant,” Tariq Ahmad, a resident said
Another resident, Abdul Hameed, lamented that the road has been a nightmare for the people of the area. “The dust that comes out of the rough road surface causes throat infections during the dry season while the puddled water during the rainy season made the road non-motorable. Taking pregnant women and patients to hospital is a major challenge for us. The patients, children and old people are the worst sufferers,” he said
As per residents of the area, the macadamization of the road was carried out last year but left midway due to an altercation of the Engineer with the residents over an issue.
The residents alleged that the contractor used to lay less quantity material on the road and when they objected; he left the work midway and did not returned till date. “The macadamization of the road was started last year but the contractor used to lay only three inches of macadamization that was against the order of five inches. We objected to the contractor and asked him to show the contract copy. But in response, he left the work midway”, Naseema Bano, a resident said.
An official of the R&B Department wishing anonymity said that the approved length of the road was macadamized last year. However, the macadamization of another stretch of the road is yet to be approved.
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