Rainwater puddles, potholes on old town Baramulla-Drangbal road irk commuters

Baramulla, Apr 7: The vital old town Baramulla-Drangbal road connecting several other areas with the main town has been left in shambles due to official apathy. Travelling on this road has turned into a nightmare for commuters, who complain of its dilapidated conditions. From businessmen to government employees and from students to private sector employees, this is the only route which connects the old-town Baramulla, Drangbal, Jalsheri, Khadniyar with the main town. However, the road often remains out of sight of the concerned authorities who, according to locals, do not maintain it annually. "Forget about blacktopping, the authorities do not even fill these potholes by carrying out patch work on it," said Ashiq Hussain, a resident of old town Baramulla.

The J&K Forest department has established a children's park at Jalsheri for which families travel on the same road to take their kids to the park. However, the bumpy road plays a spoilsport as travelling on the road becomes hectic.

Besides, View Point  located on the top of Drangbal area has become the star attraction for the youngsters from across north Kashmir and visitors from other districts. But the joy of reaching the View Point fades away as the commuters have to face a tough time while travelling on the old town-Drangbal road. "We have to walk by foot (trek) to reach the View Point. But the bumpy ride becomes more hectic than trekking on this mountain. "The situation of the road is not only bad in the town, but the link road connecting Azad Gunj with Khadniyar via the old town is in shambles. The road was constructed some years ago and is craving for maintenance by the concerned authorities," said Mehraj Ahmad, a resident of old town Baramulla.

The road from Azad Gunj to Khadniyar connects four villages with the rest of the town but it has not been maintained by the concerned authorities. "Ideally it should take only 10 to 15 minutes to cover the distance from Azad Gunj to Khadniyar but  given the bad condition of the road, it takes around one hour to cover the distance," the locals said.

The local residents urged the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla and the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department for their intervention into the matter and make this road worth travelling.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla Minga Sherpa said the upgradation and repairs of the road will be done during the current working season.

"The DLP for the road is getting over in June. We have taken it up for upgradation and repair should be completed in this working season," DC Baramulla told Greater Kashmir.