Restoration of Batote-Kishtwar highway begins

Restoration of Batote-Kishtwar highway begins

MLA Doda launches blacktopping of Doda Batote road

RAJESHWAR SINGH

DODA,APR 16---Fulfilling the long pending demand of the people of erstwhile Doda district the government has started the restoration and blacktopping work on 170-km Batote-Kishtwar national highway which serves as the lifeline for the Chenab Valley with our 11 lakh souls , which is sinking at several places and is in a poor shape.The government has released Rs 90 crore for the immediate restoration of this crucial national highway NH-244 which is in a poor shape and claimed several lives in road accidents in recent years.“Batote to Kishtwar highway is the only road connecting the twin mountainous districts of Doda and Kishtwar, but previous regimes had never made any attempts to restore this crucial highway,” MLA Doda Shakti Raj Parihar said while launching the blacktopping work of the Doda to Assar at Khelani . “The restoration work, including blacktopping of the highway from Batote to Kishtwar- Chatroo, will be completed within a year’s time,” he said adding that it is after a long persistent demand of the public of the Doda , that the Government has started working on black-topping of Doda Assar road in first phase and for that government had sanctioned 27 Crore for Doda division only .MLA said the deplorable condition of roads is one of the major causes of road accidents in the Chenab valley and besides, vehicles owners have to bear huge losses on account of wear and tear of their vehicles, with which they suffer due to poor condition of roads.He said the communication breakdown of this region with the outer world is almost a daily-affair due to landslides, sinking away of road and shooting of stones at various locations.He blamed previous governments for its condition and said construction of Sudhmahadev-Marmat Tunnel will start soon and for that work is already allotted to a company and till that entire stretch of Batote-Doda road should be re-aligned as the road is sinking at various locations due to formation of big catchment (Lake) of Baglihar Project and is vulnerable to landslides also an accident prone area. He said that road connectivity is among the top priorities of the Government and a comprehensive programme has been launched to upgrade and blacktop all the existing roads.He said as per the availability of material, machinery and weather conditions, all the roads will be taken up for blacktopping in a phased manner, he added.He also called upon the engineers and contractors to ensure strict adherence to quality standards as per the new specifications and parameters, maintaining that any lapse on this account will be viewed seriously and defaulters will be penalized accordingly. He also asked the locals to personally supervise the quality and specifications of work to ensure longevity of road.