Apart from the locals, the people of Sahaspur (Pachwadoon) area continue to face severe hardships apart from routine inconvenience in commuting on the stretch of the Chakrata Road with the campus of Indian Military Academy on both sides of the road, said the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress department of ex-servicemen chief and retired captain Balbir Singh Rawat.
He has requested the IMA authorities to pursue necessary efforts to enable the public to apply pressure on the Central Government in pursuance of the demand for construction of a subway on the stretch of the Chakrata road near the academy.
In a statement issued to the media on Wednesday, the retired captain opined that considering the “severe inconvenience being faced by the public on the stretch of Chakrata highway passing through the middle of the IMA campus, it appears as if the affected people are serving life sentences even after Independence”.
He stated, “This is not proper considering the present times. In the past a plan had been drafted by the Central Government for the proposed construction of a subway on this stretch of the road. During the term in office of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government at the centre, a sum of `36 lakh had also been expended on the preparation of a detailed project report regarding the subway construction.”
He further pointed out that since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Government had assumed office at the Centre, the public, especially the affected persons, have not been able to get any information about the stand of the Central Government in this case. This is causing considerable discontent among the people residing in the affected area, he said.
Rawat further averred that he had requested the Indian Military Academy to “take the trouble of informing the public of the affected area about the action being taken by the Government of India (Defence ministry), so that the public can exert pressure on the Central Government for construction of a subway here in public interest”.
The retired captain claimed that hindrance being faced by locals while plying on the Chakrata highway and construction of a road in the Arcadia grant tea-estate area were two of the major issues that had been affecting the public of the area detrimentally.
The construction of the route through Arcadia Grant tea-estate was made possible by consistent efforts and undertaken to facilitate construction of this route which now acts as a vital link for the residents of Arcadia Asan area and the Pachwa Doon region.
Rawat stated, “In the interests of the public, I have now decided to concentrate my efforts on the aim of facilitating the construction of the subway on the stretch of Chakrata Road near IMA. If required as part of the effort, a public movement can also be initiated to pressurise the Central Government for the demanded construction. At the same time, interaction will also be held with the union defence minister to inform him about the major problems being faced by the public in commuting on this stretch of Chakrata Road.”