Gaggal villagers worried over possible realignment of Pathankot-Mandi road
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will have to realign the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane road due to the Gaggal airport expansion project. The possibility of the realignment of the road is giving sleepless nights to many villagers living around Gaggal. They fear that the new aligned road may pass through their area. As a result, they may lose their houses, shops or business establishments.
Sanjay Chaudhary, a resident of Bagli near Gaggal, says, “His shop is located on the Bagli-Dharamsala road. My family is living in tension since we came to know that the alignment of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane road will be changed due to the Gaggal airport expansion project. We fear that if the new aligned road passes through our village, I might lose my shop, which is the only source of livelihood for my family. We request the government to decide on the road realignment at the earliest so that people can plan accordingly.”
Deepak, another resident of the area, says, “Earlier, our village was not covered under the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane road project. However, since a new alignment of the road is being proposed due to the Gaggal airport expansion project, we do not know what will happen in future. The government should take a decision on the road alignment at the earliest so that people can make resettlement plans.”
The sources say that due to the Gaggal airport expansion project, the present road passing through it may be closed for general traffic and it could become part of the airport. So, the government may have to plan alternative roads to connect the area.
Vikas Surjewala, Project Director of the NHAI for the Pathankot-Mandi road project, says that a consultant for the realignment of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane road in Gaggal has been appointed. He is likely to submit his report within next two months. The NHAI will decide on the realignment of the road in Gaggal on the basis of the consultant’s report, he adds.
The mushrooming of shops and business establishments along roads in Kangra district is creating problems for people during the execution of the road widening projects, as rules for construction are hardly followed.
As per the rules, no construction can take place within 25 feet of the edges of the state roads or national highways. For NHAI roads, no construction is allowed within 100 feet from their edges. Interestingly, though the work for the widening of the Pathankot-Mandi highway is underway, people are raising new construction right on the edges of the roads in the Palampur-Baijnath section. Business establishments are coming up right on the edges of the Dharamsala-Gaggal highway under the nose of the authorities concerned but no action is being taken.
