Ire at GTA road upkeep..public of Takdah demand handing over of the road to PWD

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Dec 21, 2017, Darjeeling: Residents of Takdah have demanded that a key road under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) be handed over to the state PWD department.

The locals have alleged that a 25km stretch of the road that links Takdah with Darjeeling and National Highway-10 could not be maintained properly by the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) - since it was handed to the hill body in 1988 - earlier or the GTA now. The stretch covers the part from the 6thMile to 27th Mile where it touches NH-10.

Govind Pradhan, general secretary of the apolitical Jankalyan Samanwai Samity, on Thursday submitted a "mass petition" to the PWD through the Darjeeling DM.

"Before the DGHC was formed, the road was maintained by the PWD. Right now, the condition of the road is terrible. The GTA is undertaking a major expansion and maintenance but once it is completed, we want the state PWD to take over the road," said Pradhan.

Locals claim the repair has been undertaken after nearly 10 years and point out that some other roads under the state are in much better shape. "Roads maintained by the state PWD are much better," Pradhan said.

The GTA has more than 3,000km of roads under it, mostly in rural areas, but their upkeep has been far from satisfactory. The PWD maintains around 400km.

Observers believe the demand by Takdah residents is a major embarrassment to the leaders who administered the DGHC and GTA, though many of them would constantly complain about lack of funds.

On Thursday, Pradhan and A.K. Rai, president of the Samity, met GTA chief Binay Tamang along with others. "We apprised him about the need to transfer the (Takdah) road to the PWD. We also raised other issues like lack of doctors in government hospitals and repair of other roads in our area. He told us he had visited Takdah a few days ago and taken note of the problems," said Rai.