Stone laid 5 years ago, but work on ambulance road to Chamba’s SC-dominated village yet to begin
The Newz Radar
CHAMBA: The wait for an ambulance road for the residents of Sakadiya village under Bhagdar panchayat of Bhattiyat Assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district has proven to be quite a long one as the road construction hasn’t begun despite the foundation stone being laid nearly five years ago. Sakadiya village is dominated by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
According to information, the construction has been stuck as the Himachal Forest Department is yet to transfer land to the Public Works Department for starting the road work. This is the reason why the hope of a road facility for about 90 families living in the village seems to be fading.
BJP leader and former Bhattiyat MLA Vikram Singh Jaryal had performed the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of the ambulance road on March 7, 2019, to fulfill the long-pending demand of the villagers. Not only this, a token money of Rs 1 lakh was also released from the MLA fund to the Public Works Department for the road work. The laying of the foundation stone had given the hope to the villagers that they would be connected by a road soon, but to no avail.
Even after the passage of more than four years, only the foundation stone plaque is lying on the site of the proposed road. The village is at a distance of more than 3 km from the link road. Due to the absence of road, the villagers have to carry essential items on their back. In case a villager falls seriously ill, he has to be carried either in a palanquin or on the back of others to reach an ambulance.
What does ex-MLA Vikram Jaryal have to say
The former MLA says that to fulfill the long-pending demand of the villagers, a token money of Rs 1 lakh was released from the MLA fund. “The further work was to be done by the Public Works Department, but unfortunately the department could not complete this work,” he said.
PWD’s Dalhousie Executive Engineer Anil Sharma said that all the clearances for starting the road work were expected to be done by March.
