Wednesday, Dec 03, 2025 23:15 [IST]
Last Update: Tuesday, Dec 02, 2025 17:40 [IST]
GEYZING,: Road & Bridges minister N.B. Dahal
on Sunday publicly reprimanded panchayat and zilla panchayat members of
Geyzing-Omchung and Legship-Hingdam GPUs, accusing them of inaction and
misplaced complaints over the worsening condition of the Legship-Geyzing road.
Minister Dahal, expressing his
disappointment over media reports regarding the poor condition of the
aforementioned routes and repeated demands for immediate restoration works,
alleged inaction on the part of the panchayat and zilla panchayat members of
the two GPUs.
He maintained that if the demands of the
panchayat and zilla panchayat members were not being addressed, they should
gherao the concerned department office. He further said that not only the Chief
Minister, ministers and MLAs, but the panchayat and zilla panchayat members
were equally responsible for the government's developmental efforts.
“Have the panchayat and zilla panchayat
members ever visited the concerned department offices? You should gherao the
concerned department offices and pressurise them if your demands are not
addressed. Apart from the Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs, you too are
equally responsible for the developmental initiatives in the State,” Dahal said
while addressing the valedictory function of Bala Chaturdashi Mela at Legship
on Sunday.
He further mentioned that he alone was
not responsible and that there was a need for collective effort from the
panchayat and zilla panchayat members as well.
Dahal lamented that people spoke only
about the Legship-Geyzing road but not about the condition of the Legship-Kewzing
road handled by NHIDCL, which, he said, had been kept in shambles by the agency
and the concerned contractor. “Too much rant over the Legship-Geyzing road. Why
don’t you (panchayat and zilla panchayat members) speak about the Legship-Kewzing
road, which is in pathetic condition? Why don’t you approach NHIDCL and protest
against them?” Dahal asked.
He mentioned that the State government
had been sincerely working to improve road conditions across the State and that
many projects had been sanctioned to enhance connectivity.
Responding to minister Dahal’s
accusations, Geyzing-Omchung zilla panchayat member Sagar Sharma shared that
the Geyzing-Omchung GPU had submitted applications demanding early restoration
of the Legship–Geyzing road to the superintending engineer of Road &
Bridges department on December 4, 2023, and to the secretary on May 3, 2024,
after a resolution was passed in a Gram Sabha jointly conducted by the Geyzing-Omchung,
Singyang-Chumbung and Tikjuk-Kyongsa GPUs.
Sharma stated that the demands still
remained unaddressed. “We have been diligently pursuing the Legship-Geyzing
road issue. We have done what was within our capacity. We visited the offices
of the concerned department with the demands for improving the status of the
Legship-Geyzing road,” Sharma said.
He further informed that a Detailed
Project Report (DPR) for the Legship–Geyzing road had been prepared by the
Public Works Department, which oversees the route. “A DPR with an estimated
cost of Rs 110 crore for the Legship-Geyzing road has been prepared, and the
same will be submitted to the State government very soon,” Sharma added.
The conditions of both the Legship-Geyzing
and Legship-Kewzing roads have been poor, deteriorating significantly,
especially during the monsoon. NHIDCL has been undertaking restoration work on
the Legship–Kewzing road, but at a slow pace. Similarly, the Legship–Geyzing
road, which serves as a major access route to the district headquarters of
Geyzing and other nearby areas including Pelling, needs immediate restoration.
During the rainy season, traffic on the Legship-Geyzing route often gets
disrupted due to landslips or sinking stretches at numerous points.
