This road connects 4 villages, but hasn’t been repaired even once : The Tribune India

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 8

Commuters are having a tough time while driving through the Talhan Road which leads to the historic Talhan Sahib Gurdwara in Jalandhar. The road crosses through four Jalandhar villages.

Constructed seven years ago, the dilapidated road sees heavy traffic due to the substantial footfall at the gurdwara and has not been repaired even once till date. The main connecting road from the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway to the Talhan Sahib Gurdwara the four villages which fall on both sides of the road are Talhan, Salempur Masandan, Pargapur and Dhannowali.

“Gram panchayat Talhan sadde pind aun te tuhada swagat kardi hai” reads a sign on the road with Sarpanch Sunita Kumari’s name on it. However, commuters are welcomed with heavily potholed roads filled with water, a sight any visitor would not want to see. The situation becomes worse during the monsoons as deep potholes filled with rainwater pose an invitation to accidents.

Jaskaran Singh Johal, president, Cooperative Society, Salempur Masandan, said, “The road was built during the time of Akalis, seven years ago. Since then, no one has bothered to get it repaired. People not just from Punjab but from across other states come to visit Talhan Gudwara only to be greeted by this road. In the monsoons the potholes get filled with water and pose danger to commuters. There is also a nursing institute and a dera up ahead on the road. It is a huge nightmare to these hundreds of commuters.”

Residents also said while some locals filled up some potholes with mud and rubble from construction sites to fill up the potholes these have been washed off in the rains making these stretches all the more uneven.

Area councillor Sunita Rani said, “The work on interlocking tiles was started near the gurdwara but couldn’t be completed due to some reasons. The road is under PWD and not directly under the village panchayat. Hence, the works will be started by the PWD. We have take up the issue repeatedly and have been told the work on the road will be started in November.”