Pulwama, Feb 03: Residents of various villages of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district have appealed to authorities to widen and repair the Astanpora-Naina road that passes through Chakoora village and is a vital road connecting Pulwama with Anantnag district.
Shahid Ahmad, a local of Chakoora, said that R&B Department carried out a widening of the road stretch from Tahab to Astanpora around a year ago. He said another stretch of the road of around 6.5 kilometres – from Astanpora to Naina – was left out from the widening and repairing.
“This road stretch is very narrow due to which commuters face a lot of inconveniences,” Shahid said, adding that this is a vital road connecting Pulwama with Anantnag district.
At some points, the width of the road is so narrow that two vehicles from opposite sides can hardly cross each other, the locals said, adding that the road has also developed many potholes and needs repairing.
“The road is in shambles and gives bumpy rides to passengers,” they said.
The residents said they filed a grievance report in this regard in December last year through Lieutenant Governor’s Grievance Cell and were informed that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been submitted for the road and work on it will be started once it gets approved.
“We once again request authorities to redress this grievance at the earliest,” the local said.
Assistant Executive Engineer R&B Pulwama said plans for the subdivision were prepared and submitted by his predecessor. “All the approved plans were executed,” he said, adding that they take up work in patches due to financial constraints.
“We will figure the widening and repairing of the road stretch in the new plan,” he said.