Residents of Gharkote hold protest to seek road repair

Baramulla, Feb 14: Three days after a man was killed and three others injured in a road mishap in Gharkote Uri area of Baramulla district, the locals staged a protest on Wednesday against the dilapidated road condition and urged the Baramulla District Administration to take immediate measures for the repair of the road.

The aggrieved residents while expressing their anger said that the road stretch from Thala to Upper Garkote is in dilapidated condition since 2005. They said the road stretch comes under R&B Department Uri. However, whenever, residents here demand its repair, the concerned department comes with an excuse that the road stretch does not come under their ambit.

Liyaqat Ali Balote, a local resident, said that although department of R&B few years back  undertook soil work over the road stretch, however, there was no further movement since then.

“Already, a road mishap here caused death to a passenger three days back. Had the road condition been improved, the mishap could have been avoided,” said Liyaqat Ali Balote.

Rafaqat Balote, another resident while describing the miserable condition of the road stretch, said that “ We could not transport the body of the road mishap victim recently to his home owing to the bad condition of the road.”

He said from Garkote, the body was carried on shoulders by the youth of the area, reflecting the pathetic condition of the people of this area.