Roadside drainage to provide relief to Bhadwar residents

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, July 27

Residents of Bhadwar, situated on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway-154 near Nurpur, have heaved a sigh of relief as the four-lane construction company swung into action to create a roadside drainage system in front of their houses and shops.

Recently, The Tribune had carried a story — ‘Public outcry over four-lane project as rainwater enters shops, houses’ — in these columns, highlighting the plight of residents of Bhadwar. The rainwater accumulating on the roadside was entering the shops and houses of the residents and caused a lot of hardship to them.

Inquiries reveal that the authorities of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Shimla, took note of the problem and issued strict instructions to the four-lane construction company to address it forthwith through the NHAI’s Palampur-based project director.

In the absence of any system to drain the rainwater stagnating on the roadside, the life of residents of this village had become miserable. Even a light shower was leading to water logging on the 200-m stretch of the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway at Bhadwar. The rainwater was also entering the shops and houses located along the stretch, causing inconvenience to the people.

Satish Sharma, an educationist and resident of Bhadwar, said after The Tribunehighlighted the plight of Bhadwar residents, the construction company had pressed its machinery into service on Friday and dug roadside drains, along with laying some pipes in the affected area, for the convenience of people in the locality during the monsoon season.

Meanwhile, Abdul Basit, NHAI Regional Officer, told that the construction company was supposed to ensure that the public did not face any inconvenience during the four-laning process, especially during the monsoon season.