Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, May 23: More than 5000 souls of Panchayat Damlar and other Panchayats in Tehsil Mahanpur are on the mercy of God as they are crossing the Behaini river at the risk of their lives in these rainy days.
Scared by flood ghost the villagers of these Panchayats have sleepless nights.
According to locals a rope way bridge connecting to more than one dozen villages in Panchayat Dhamlar, Panchayat Dharmahanpur, Kore Dhar, part of Chanera, Adhat Panchayat and part of Hottar Panchayat have only this rope way bridge to reach to their destination. Unfortunately the approach road connecting to ropeway bridge washed away in flash flood last year and it was not constructed till date, they said.
Surprisingly, the R&B Department and Rural Development Department (RDD) did not pay attention to repairs of the bridge. The people including the women, children and those suffering from various ailments were forced to cross the Behaini river at the cost of their lives, the locals said.
Now the heavy rainfall in the area has added to their woes and people fare worst when the river is in spate. But no one from Government side pays heed to construct the approach road of just ten metre to link the dozens of villages with tehsil Mahanpur and rest of UT.
A local leader Joginder Singh while condemning the attitude of UT Government which is ignoring more than 5000 population said there is lot of resentment among the people of the area against the authorities. He said it is the real picture that how bureaucracy and Panchayati Raj system is working in the UT. All the development works are done on papers and fake promises were made by concerning departments.
He said Government will be responsible for any catastrophe in the area caused due to non construction of approach road.
The people demanded immediate construction of approach road linking to ropeway bridge failing which they would be forced to come to streets.
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