*Black-out threat looms large over district
Ajay Raina
JAMMU, Apr 26: The mountainous Kishtwar District remained cut off from rest of the State for the third consecutive day, as the district administration failed to restore the 110-kilometers Batote-Doda-Kishtwar highway, which got closed due to landslide at Kuligad area near Drabshalla.
As per official sources, the highway got closed due to landslide at Kuligad near Drabshalla during the intervening night of April 23 and 24.
Due to the closure of the highway, vehicles carrying essential commodities including vegetables, fruits, ration, petrol and diesel also remained stranded on the highway.
Some of the people de-boarded their respective passenger vehicles and reached their destination by trekking mountainous routes.
As the highway remained closed, the people of the District Kishtwar are facing shortage of essential commodities, sources said, adding that the petrol pumps in the district are also getting dry.
If the highway is not restored, the vehicular movement including private and commercial vehicles in the district will come to complete halt in coming days.
Thought, the men and machinery of R&B Department are on the job to restore the vehicular movement on the highway yet the shooting stones are hampering the restoration work.
Apart from road connectivity, the heli services also remained affected, which clearly reflects that the District Administration and the elected representatives are not taking steps to provide succor to the people especially the patients, who are in dire need of medical treatment outside the district.
As per sources, the heli services remained suspended due to non-availability of the pilots, however officials remained stick to their statements that there are some technical problems.
We are facing problems due to non-availability of essential commodities including LPG cylinders and it is getting difficult for us to feed our family, a lady residing in Mughal Maidan said.
“If immediate steps are not taken, then the district Kishtwar will have to face black-out in next coming days as the NHPC’s 132 KV transmission line towers supplying electricity to Doda-Kishtwar Districts will come down due to continuous soil erosion at landslide prone Kuligad area”, sources informed.
“District Administration and our elected representatives are giving statements that the vehicular movement on the highway will be restored in the shortest possible time, but on ground no steps are being taken”, one of the passenger told EXCELSIOR.
“I have to take my father for medical treatment to Jammu, but due to closure of the highway and non-availability of heli services, I am unable to get my father treated”, a resident of Kishtwar said.
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