Shahjahanpur (UP), Sep 7 (PTI) A road in a village here — built nearly five decades ago — has turned into a muddy track, with villagers and Samajwadi Party workers holding a hunger strike demanding its urgent remediation for the past three days, with officials saying the “justified demands” of the protestors will be addressed.
On Monday, dozens of protesters — wearing only their undergarments — formed a human chain in Jera Rahimpur village of Jalalabad block, demanding reconstruction of the road.
The protesters, led by Samajwadi Party state working committee member Ramveer Somvanshi, said residents have to wade through muddy slush for commuting due to absence of a proper road.
Jalalabad Sub-divisional Magistrate Madhusudan Gupta said the matter had come to his notice, following which a revenue team was sent to the village.
“The protesters apprised the revenue team of their problems. Subsequently, the block development officer was directed to take cognisance of the matter,” Gupta told PTI.
He said the concerned officer has informed him that the protesters’ “justified demands” are being addressed.
Somvanshi said the road was constructed around 50 years ago but had not been repaired or rebuilt since then and had virtually disappeared under mud.
He claimed the road was once part of a route connecting Allahganj with Rajepur in Farrukhabad district.
Villagers said they would boycott voting if the road was not constructed.
Uttar Pradesh in recent times has witnessed complaints over construction quality of expressways and highways, while on several occasions arterial roads in cities like Lucknow and Kanpur have caved in amid rains.
Additionally, several instances of ‘Gen Z’ and ‘Gen Alpha’ demonstrations over bad roads in remote districts and villages, with videos of protests going viral on social media, have prompted the administration to undertake urgent repair works. PTI COR KIS ARB ARB
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