BGSBU, half a dozen villages to finally get a motorable road

Rajouri: Thousands of students of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, staffers of the institution and thousands of people living in half a dozen villages in Rajouri are finally going to get a good road for travel as the work for blacktopping on the road between university and town has been taken up in a full pace.

The eight kilometer long road stretch starts from Dhani Dhar Bowli Morh in Rajouri town and ends at the main gate of BGSB University in Dhanore village. Besides connecting BGSB University with Rajouri town and district headquarter, this is also the main road that connects Rajouri town with half a dozen densely populated villages that include Dhanore, Kapa Kha and Dhani Dhar.

Earlier this road was a single-lane track with a project for upgradation of this important road announced in 2014-15 by then Chief Minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state and it was informed that a two lane widened road will be built between BGSB University and Rajouri town in order to facilitate easy movement towards this vital education institution which is a lone university of Jammu and Kashmir’ Pir Panjal region comprising of Rajouri and Poonch districts.

Official sources said that work of earth cutting on this prestigious project was started in 2015 and it continued for almost one and half years but then the work got suspended and later it came to fore that the administrative approval of this project has not been accorded by Jammu and Kashmir Government.

“Due to want of administrative approval, the work got stalled in 2017-18 at a time when condition of road was worst and it was full of potholes,” said official sources.

Sarpanch Dhanore, Aftab Majeed said that there was a lacuna on the part of Public Works Department (PWD) due to which administrative approval was awaited and work on this project was stalled for years.

He said that the condition of this road was very much dilapidated since last four to five years and big potholes were the cause of accidents and hundreds of minor accidents especially involving two wheelers have taken place on this road.

 “For over one dozen times, we held protest demonstration for this road demanding completion of the project and also had to face police action a couple of times,” said Abhi Sharma, a local resident. However now with administrative approval of this project being accorded two months ago, the work on this project has resumed and is presently going on at full pace and is in its last stage.

The department has kickstarted blacktopping work on the road which has also been completed for almost two and half kilometres from BGSB University side.

Deputy Commisioner Rajouri Vikas Kundal said that BGSB University road is an important road and presently “we are carrying out blacktopping work on it which has also been completed for a couple of kilometers.”

Junior Engineer of Public Works Department, Anshul Garg said that blacktopping work as per laid down specifications is going on. He said that soon the road from BGSB University to Rajouri will be blacktopped for easy movement of traffic.

Abdul Qayoom, a local resident of Dhanore said that thousands of students of the university, hundreds of staff members and thousands of people in villages of the area were facing immense difficulties due to bad condition of road. He said that accidents on this road were a routine scene earlier but now “we are hopeful that there will be a good road for our area also.”