Pulwama, July 23: Residents of several villages in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district are urging authorities to blacktop and widen a crucial road connecting the district headquarters with the historic town of Awantipora.
Ummer Ahmad, a 32-year-old resident of Koil village, speaking to Rising Kashmir said that this road links the district headquarters to the national highway at Awantipora.
According to Ahmad, the road has developed numerous potholes, making travel uncomfortable for commuters. “A stretch near Tulbagh, close to Koil village, is in terrible condition after being washed away by a recent flash flood,” he said, adding that another section near Padgampora is also in a dilapidated state.
Ummer that the road was last blacktopped over seventeen years ago and has since deteriorated due to the heavy traffic it handles daily. He criticised the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department for only carrying out sporadic patchwork, which he believes is insufficient to address the issue.
Ahmad appealed to the higher authorities in the R&B Department to blacktop the entire road for the comfort of commuters.
Rizwan Ahmad, another local, said the road needs to be widened as well. “The road is too narrow at the main market in Koil and Malangpora, causing difficulties for vehicles travelling in opposite directions to pass each other,” he said, adding that the narrowness and poor condition of the road has led to several accidents.
Rizwan said that the R&B Department had proposed widening the road in 1998, but the plan was never executed. He called on the authorities to implement the long-overdue widening project as initially proposed.
Executive Engineer R&B Pulwama, Javid Ahmad Dar, said that patchwork would be carried out on some sections of the road this season. “Blacktopping and widening this road will require a significant amount of funding,” he said, adding that he is willing to submit a proposal for the project to higher authorities, although securing the necessary funds remains a challenge.
