Closure of Chowkibal-Karnah road takes toll on people

Kupwara, Feb 5: Body of a 45 year old person is lying at the mortuary of Government Medical College Handwara due to blockade of Chowkibal-Karnah road.

Karnah’s Sadhna Top witnessed almost 5-6 feet snowfall recently leading to closure of road for all types of vehicles. Notably Chowkibal-Karnah road has been closed for the last six days, causing immense hardships for the locals.

Although the district administration has kept the body in GMC Handwara mortuary, the deceased person’s relatives are demanding to airlift the mortal remains so that the last rights could be performed at the earliest.

“Every year, we are subjected to hardships due to blockade of the road after heavy snowfall in the area. For the last three decades we have been demanding construction of a tunnel at Sadhna Top to make our area accessible for all seasons but only false promises are being made to us,” Irfan Ahmad, a local of Karnah told Greater Kashmir.

“Due to blockade of the road, we are unable to transport the dead body to Karnah. There was a demand from locals to construct a tunnel on the Kupwara-Karnah road and even the government had promised the same but it has turned out to be a hoax. After the Central Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in 2021 announced that the tunnel would be constructed for Karnah, our joy knew no bounds but since then two years have passed no concrete development can be seen on ground,” said another local.

The relatives of the deceased have appealed to the district administration Kupwara to airlift the body at the earliest.

Meanwhile an official told Greater Kashmir that by tomorrow the Chowkibal-Karnah road would be cleared following which the body will be shifted to Karnah.