Mandi-Loran road bane of locals
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Loran-Mandi (Poonch), June 9
The Central government may be making efforts to connect every village in the country with a road, but in one of the most backward area of the state, the already existing Mandi-Loran road is in bad condition resulting in sufferings to local people. Locals complain that the 17-km long road, which connects Mandi with Loran and Danna, is in bad shape. They allege that the roads and buildings (R&B) department has failed to take care of the road.

The locals further complain that during the rainy season it is quite hard to travel on the road and it needs quite an effort for even walk on it.

“The condition of this road has worsened over the years and no senior officer from the department concerned has ever visited to take stock of the situation. One can still tread this road these days, although with difficulty, but during rainy season it becomes risky since the road becomes muddy and slippery,” says Muhammad Rafiq, a local resident, whose children face inconvenience while going to school.

“We face problems in transporting patients. Students also suffer because of the poor condition of the road. The government should take this matter seriously as it concerns poor people of this backward and remote area and direct the department concerned to take up its maintenance immediately,” he adds.

A senior officer of the R&B department says though the stretch of road from Mandi to Loran is in satisfactory condition, the road from Lower Loran to Danna, which is already under construction, needs to be completed.