Pampore Umar Colony residents aghast with R&B department for not repairing road

‘Despite assurances, authorities fail to repair the stretch for four years’

PAMPORE: For past four years residents of Umar colony in Frestabal area of Pampore town have been waiting for macdamisation of a link road.
The residents have been running from pillar to post pleading before authorities of Roads & Buildings Department (R&B), successive deputy commissioners and other higher authorities for last four years for macdemisation of a link road from National highway 1 A to Masjid Umar Frestabal.
“We have been following the issue since 2017 and in 2018 we wrote to B B Viyas then chief secretary of Kashmir, filed a complaint to then governor’s grievance cell but till date nothing was done,” Suhail Rehman, a local resident of Umar Colony told Kashmir Reader.
They locals that a stretch of around half kilometer has been ignored by officials of R&B department in past when around 1200 meters of road stretch were macadamised.
They said that when authorities of R&B were asked as to why they left this half kilometer without macdemisation they were told that it will be taken up next year.
“Four years have passed since then but the road remains unattended,” they said.
The path has many potholes and ditches which trouble commuters.
“These days the dust which blows up in air with each passing vehicle settle in our houses,” Suhail, who is residing beside the link road said.
The residents told Kashmir Reader they also went to deputy commissioner’s office in Pulwama on 2018 and brought the issue into the notice of successive deputy commissioners in Pulwama.
” We also pleaded before authorities of R&B for blacktopping of the link road but they only provided lip services and till date nothing was done,” Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a local resident of Frestabal told Kashmir Reader.
He added that when the R&B department was blacktopping a portion of this road , they approached the concerned official and asked him for taking up the other portion as well.
“The official refused, he revealed that they a fund of rupees 50 lakh which has been already spent,” he told, adding that they were told by the official RandB department no funds for macdemising the road stretch.
The residents of Umar colony Frestabal appeal Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to look into the matter for redressing their long pending grievance.
AEE of Roads & Buildings Department Pampore, Mushtaq Ahmad said that he checked the plan file a day ago.
“The road link has not been projected in the plan,” he said, adding as such they can’t take it up.

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