Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Vikramaditya Singh inspected the damaged Subathu-Solan road on Saturday and announced Rs 1.35 crore for its immediate repair. “A 3-km stretch of the Subathu-Solan road will be repaired immediately at a cost of Rs 35 lakh to be provided through the annual maintenance programme while Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned under the post-disaster need assessment. Besides, patchwork on the road at a cost of Rs 24 lakh has already been awarded,” he said. The minister, while addressing mediapersons in Solan, said that a detailed project report of Rs 23 crore had been sent to the Planning Department and funds would be provided as the next trance of NABARD.
With the monsoon season having set in, the road repair work has stopped and it usually resumes after September 15.
In the absence of regular repair and maintenance, the Subathu road is badly damaged every time it rains. Gaping fissures have developed on the surface of the road, which increases the wear and tear of vehicles. Driving two-wheelers is fraught with danger, as the dilapidated road has enhanced the risk of accidents.
Representatives of various panchayats had given a memorandum to the Solan Deputy Commissioner last week, demanding the early repair of the damaged road. Since the road connects various villages, the villagers are facing problems in transporting their farm produce to markets.
The Solan BJP’s urban unit had staged a protest on February 23 to press for the early repair of the road. Instead of doing the needful, the PWD merely did a lip service and halted the repair work after two days. It had repeatedly made excuses like the winter season not being suitable for road construction, unavailability of bitumen and the lack of diesel to operate road construction machines.
“The condition of this road has deteriorated to such an extent that even light showers make it difficult for pedestrians to cross the area. Though it is a crucial route connecting four Assembly constituencies and two districts, the silence of the public representatives and MLAs concerned is unfortunate and shameful,” said Shailender Gupta, president of the BJP’s Solan unit. As the Central Government had lifted curbs on the use of diesel for construction work on June 30, the state government should repair the damaged road, he added.
