BUDGAM: People living in three villages in Khansahib tehsil in central Kashmir’s Budgam district are facing considerable difficulties because the Zagoo-Ringzabal road has not been macadamised in the last 7 years.

Residents of the three villages – Zagoo, Kharian, and Ringzabal – told Kashmir Reader that it was in the year 2014 that the government last carried out macadamisation of the road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Mehraj ud Din, a resident of Ringzabal village, said that due to the bad condition of the road, locals are facing difficulties on daily basis.

“We are nomadic families and our concerns have been consistently neglected by the government. The government should show some responsibility and take the necessary steps to macadamise the main roads as well as the link roads to the villages. That is the demand of Kharian and Zagoo villagers,” he said.

Private Sumo cab drivers do not come to the village as the condition of the road is getting worse by the day, he added.

“We do not have any information if this road has been handed over to the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department or if it is still under the PMGSY programme,” Mehraj ud Din said.

Abdul Majeed Chohan, a resident of Kharian village, said that the link road which connects to the upper Chohan Mollah from the Kharian main road has also not been macadamised.

“There are so many potholes and bumpy roads but we have to travel on them on daily basis,” Chohan said.

“When it snows in the winters, we are disconnected from the district headquarters,” he added.

Chief Engineer for the PMGSY, Rafiq Ahmad, told Kashmir Reader that roads that were macadamised under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana remained under the control of PMGSY for only a period of five years.

ARIF RASHID