Despite the fact that more than two months have passed since the natural calamities struck in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand, more steps are awaited by the department concerned to connect more than 250 villages to the main connecting roads across State.
However, department officials told that the necessary exercise is on full swing to connect remaining villages by roads by the end of this month. Shockingly, the road distance between two villages has also increased manifold in Uttarkashi district and other disaster-affected districts of the State. Under Bhagirathi valley, the distance between
village Pilang and Jaudav was 18 km which now increased upto 28 km after witnessing the natural catastrophe in the month of June.
Due to the blocked roads and connecting routes, villagers are forced to traverse several extra kilometers to reach to the district headquarters of the district. The same plight is being faced by the villagers who live in Naitala and Gangori as they are also forced to traverse extra kilometers to reach to their destination. Joshiyada, ladari, Kotiyalgaon, Badagaddi,Gajna, Tekhla by-pass, Baderi, Rala,
Kasla, Haripur, Badasu, Dahimaar, Ausla, Dharkot, Pawani etc. villages and connecting routes lead to the villages are damaged. Sources said that due to the disaster that played havoc in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Tehri, Bageshwar, around 4,200 villages were cut off by the main connecting roads and routes in the disaster affected districts of the State. With the help of all nodal agencies, out of 4,200 villages, 3,921 villages have been reconnected and work is in progress to reconnect remaining 279 villages.
He further claimed that out of 2,297 obstructed roads due to the disaster, 1,942 are functional again. Sources revealed that work is in progress to reopen the remaining 355 roads in the disaster-affected districts of the State, but lamented that inclement weather and incessant rains have been hampering the department’s efforts to repair and reconstruct the damaged roads at earliest.
One of the department sources who wished anonymity told The Pioneer that stern instructions are already released to all nodal agencies which include PWD, BRO, municipality and district administration to take potent steps to repair the roads.
“The rough weather and incessant rains which have been witnessed for the last one month in the state has been hampering the department’s efforts for carrying the repairing of roads on war footing,” he reiterated, adding that the most of the roads is already repaired and remaining of the damaged roads would be repaired by the end of this month.