Farmers have resented pathetic condition of state link roads mainly in Chopal and Rohru sub-divisions ahead of the apple season that is likely to begin in the first week of July.
PWD divisional engineers of Theog and Chopal swung into action and filled potholes and pits on the Sainj-Deha-Okhta stretch of the Sainj-Chopal Nerwa state highway when Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh toured Chopal constituency by road that came as a partial relief to the commuters.
But the condition of the link roads, namely Chopal-Shantha- Dewat, Chopal-Jhiknipul-Bamta, Dopti-Pabaas-Shilikian, Maroag-Matal, Nerwa-Thoach, Nerwa-Fedach-Guma-Vikasnagar, is sure to turn from bad to worse in the forthcoming rains, resent Jagdish Rathaur, Rajinder Chauhan, Megh Ram and Shaukat Ali, farmers for Dewat panchayat.
These link roads are the lifelines for formers as they have to transport their apple crop outside the state to other parts of the country. But all that PWD does is to fill the potholes with earth that turn the roads into slushy potholes during the rainy season rendering the road unmotorable, rue the farmers. The PWD is been saying for the last two years that it would tar the road, but the work is yet to start, they add.
The Dopti-Pabaas- Shilikian road that caters to people of three panchayats of Pabaas, Shilikian and upper Shantha valley in Dewat panchayat has eroded badly but the PWD has not done the surfacing or tarring work for years together, rue villagers.
The Nerwa-Fedach-Guma-Vikasnagar highway which links Rohru and Jubbal valleys, has become the shortest route to the markets in Yamunanagar, Delhi, Dehradun and Saharanpur. “Truckers shy away from loading fruit because the road mainly from Fedach to Vikasnagar and Paonta Sahib is pathetic. A farmers’ delegation met Chief Minister in Shillai last week and sought tarring of the road”, said Satish Kumar, a fruit buyer.
Though the PWD engineers had been told to improve the road condition ahead of the apple season, no action has taken, rue farmers.
The condition of the Nihari-Patshal-Kharapathar-Paraunthi stretch of the under-construction Theog-Hatkoti highway is equally bad leaving the daily commuters hassled. The farmers in Baral panchayat have been demanding the improvement of the Rohru-Madhondi-Baral road but to no avail.
PWD field engineers claim that the maintenance or tarring work would be resumed after the monsoons. The debris and landslides are cleared in a routine manner on the link roads as the JCBs and other machineries are kept ready at key location to clear the roads.
