Roads in Shopian area lead 'nowhere'

Shopian, Nov 10: A locality in south Kashmir's Shopian town exemplifies the notion of "roads leading to nowhere".

The authorities constructed two roads in Dal Colony (Kanipora) two years ago and macadamised one of them.

However, neither road has been connected to any neighbouring locality.

According to the residents, one road leading to the colony was constructed in 2022 and was supposed to link with the other newly built road, but the construction was left halfway through.

"Some farmers did not allow the construction of the road through their farms as the government is disinclined to provide them compensation for their proprietary land", said the residents.

They said that they approached the authorities umpteen times, but to no avail. "Without connecting these roads to other localities, they serve no purpose", said Hafeez ullah, a resident and prominent social activist.

He said that the government must give compensation to the farmers and acquire the land for the completion of the road.

"Only a small parcel of land is required to complete the road," said the resident.

Some residents said that in the absence of the complete road, the crucial services could not be accessed in the locality in the event of an emergency.

They said that the construction of the other road was also left unfinished. " We are clueless as to why it was not connected to any locality", they said.

An official told Greater Kashmir that the issue had been brought to their notice and they were looking into it.