Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 13: The recently macadamised Inderwan-Yarmuqam road in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district has developed damage barely a week after completion, sparking outrage among residents.
Constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), locals allege that the macadamisation was carried out in haste and under unfavourable weather conditions, resulting in poor-quality work.
Muhammad Maqbool Khan, a local resident, said the road has already started to come apart despite being newly laid. He termed the macadamisation “useless.”
“The contractor himself said he was forced by the department to carry out the work despite unsuitable weather. This is no work at all,” he said.
The 5.2-kilometre road was approved under Batch-3 and taken up for renewal at an estimated cost of Rs 3.65 crore.
Around 10,000 people from three villages depend on this stretch, with locals seeking strict action against those involved.
Another resident, Mir Muhammad, said the road surface has peeled off at several locations after just eight days.
“There are many spots where the macadam has come off even though the road hasn’t been used much. It has been just eight days since the work was done,” he said.
Nazir Ahmad, another villager, termed the situation unfortunate and called for action over what he described as the “wastage of public money.”
“The Government sanctioned funds for this road, but it has gone to waste. If such a thing had happened in the city, action would have been taken immediately,” he said.
“They macadamised the road at the wrong time when the project was sanctioned long before. It should have been done in June,” he said, urging the administration to act.
When contacted, the Executive Engineer, PMGSY, Safeena Sheikh, said temperature-related issues had affected the quality of the work and that the project had not yet been declared complete.
“Once the spring season starts, we will review the condition of the road, and only after that will the payments be released,” she said.
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