Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, July, 05
Agitated over the dilapidated condition of Jourian- Pallanwala road stretch which has been a cause of ire among the local people, a strong contingent of Panther activists spearheaded by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and former Minister along with scores of residents of the area staged a thunderous protest demonstration at Chak Malal village in Khour constituency. While raising anti- Govt slogans, the infuriated protesters accused BJP leadership of remaining apathetic towards the construction of the road stretch for the last several years. The protesters staged dharna for more than three hours seeking early repair and up-gradation of the said road which was the long pending demand of the people. Pertinent to mention that yesterday Mr. Harsh dev Singh had also submitted a detailed memorandum to the Divisional Commisioner, Jammu seeking early upgradation and widening of the road stretch on priority. Following the protest dharna, Mr. Singh also inaugurated Panthers party office at Khour in presence of other party leaders.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh expressed his shock over the condition of the Jourian to Pallanwala road stretch which has been lying in a shabby state for the last 5-6 years. He said that the road besides connecting Akhnoor with the Pallanwala border also caters to over 30 villages having more than 50,000 population.“The traffic congestion at the thickly populated areas wreaks havoc for the locals and general commuters who have been facing the wrath of the Govt’s apathy. The people badly suffer while travelling from one village to another. The road stretch is full of pits and pot holes which have also caused several tragic accidents in the past. During the monsoons, the road stretch gets waterlogged which further add to the woes of the local people and become the cause of fatal mishaps”, Harsh rued. Flaying the govt and the district administration in particular for doling inconvenience to the people, Mr. Singh divulged that the road stretch which remained prone to heavy traffic congestion had also been causing staggered Army movement during needy times.“The defense convoys have been facing problems in reaching the border fronts. What happened to the tall slogans of development trumpeted by the BJP with great fanfare? Where are ‘Achey Din’ which were promised by the Saffron party at the time of elections? Why is BJP apathetic to the welfare of the people who voted it to power with overwhelming mandate? Isn’t the dilapidated state of the road stretch bear testimony of your incompetence and laid back attitude towards public welfare shown by you during your tenure in power?”, anguished Harsh took a jibe at BJP. He assured the people that Panthers party shall not relent unless the widened road is constructed in conformity with the aspiration of the local residents. He said if required, he along with his party cadre would take an agitational course and kick start a mass movement to realize the long pending demand of the people.
Mr. Harsh Dev Singh further appealed the people to support and strengthen the Panthers party as it alone could navigate the people of Jammu region bearing the brunt of hostile discrimination from Kashmir as well as New Delhi leadership. He said that NPP was raking up the issues of all sections of the society irrespective of caste, creed and colour and acting as the lone opposition in the erstwhile state of J&K. He said that the other local issues of Khour including de-silting of the local canals, shortage of staff in health and education institutions besides uninterrupted supply of power and potable drinking water would be taken up with the concerned authorities on priority. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Mrs. Manju Singh (Gen Secretary), Mrs. Anita Choudhary (State Secy, Mahila Panthers), Ms. Palika Choudhary, Surinder Chouhan (District President-Jammu Rural), Parth Singh (Block President- Khour), Ashok Kumar, Dharminder Singh, Anil Sharma, Narinder Sharma, Deepak Sharma, Rajinder Chib, Charan Dass, Sanju Rajput, Ajay Verma, Kuldeep Singh Chib, Kulveer Singh, Praveen Sharma, Deepak Choudhary, Amit Choudhary, Tarsem Singh, Praveen Kumar, Vicky Manhas besides others.
