Baramulla, July 21: The residents of Churunda and Batangaran villages in the Uri tehsil of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district are facing severe hardships as the road connecting Thajal-Churanda has remained cut off for the last four months.
The locals have accused the administration of neglecting their villages, saying no step was being taken to repair the vital transportation route.
Lal Hussain Kohli, a social activist in Uri, expressed dismay over the lack of progress in road repairs and said the damaged road, which falls under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), has not been restored despite numerous appeals to higher authorities.
“We have time and again visited the higher authorities, but nothing has been done. The road is in a dilapidated condition due to landslides, making it impossible for transportation,” Hussain said.
The residents of Churunda said that after a meeting with the local administration, the work on the road was initiated but was later inexplicably halted. The continuous blockade of the crucial road not only causes immense difficulty for us but also poses significant challenges for patients seeking medical attention and school-going children, they said.
“We have to carry patients on our shoulders or use a stretcher to reach the hospital in main Uri. This is a pathetic situation. More pathetic is the lackadaisical attitude of the administration,” they lamented.
The residents of Churunda and Batagaran villages have appealed to the Lieutenant Governor, District Commissioner Baramulla, and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Uri to urgently intervene and direct the officials to expedite road repairs.
“If the situation persists without any action, the residents of Churunda and Batangaran will be forced to block the Uri road as a form of protest until their demands for road restoration are met,” Lal Hussain further said.
In-charge Xen PMGSY said that a significant portion of the two-kilometer damaged patch caused by slides has been successfully repaired, leaving only a section of it in a dilapidated condition.
“There were three spots where the road was damaged due to landslides. Two of the patches have been repaired and one is under process,” he said.
