The one kilometer stretch of road, connecting Daun and Ramgarh villages to the National Highway 21 near Kharar, caught the attention of Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Sunday, who marked an inquiry into the road’s dilapidated condition. The road, which was constructed one month ago after a long wait, has broken at many spots. The construction work of the road was completed last month, after repeated requests by the residents and the panchayat of Daun village, who said that they had been running from pillar to post to to get the road constructed. The sarpanch of Daun village, Ajmer Singh told Chandigarh Newsline that the road had not been built for a long time, due to which the residents used to face problems every day. “During rainy days, it would become extremely difficult for people. There were accidents in which two-wheeler riders sustained injuries from falling from their vehicles due to the bad condition of the road,” Ajmer Singh said. He further told Newsline that after a long struggle, the Public Works Department (PWD) had built the road and the work was completed last month. Ajmer Singh said, “It is a tar road. About ten days after the completion of its work, it started breaking at many spots. At some spots, there are patches on the road, we raised the issue with the PWD and also approached Balbir Singh Sidhu as he is the local MLA. The material used is sub-standard and there must be an inquiry.” Ajmer Singh said that a delegate of residents met cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, urging him to initiate an inquiry. Another resident of the area, Harbans Singh said that Daun is a historic village with religious importance and hundreds of people throng the village every Sunday. However, because of the bad condition of the road, even the pilgrims are facing problem. Daun village, located about 1.5 km away from NH-21, near Kharar, was adopted by former Anandpur Sahib MP Professor Prem Singh Chandumajra to develop it as a model village. The former MP was not available for comments on the reason for the delay in construction of the road. Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that he had written to PWD to look into the matter and had requested them to stop the payment of the contractor.
