Army has allegedly closed the only motorable route to Lolab valley since the protests began on July 8 after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen young commander Burhan Wani.Residents of Lolab told KNS that since July 8, the army of Zangli Garrison in Lolab closed the road the very next day of for vehicular traffic as well as for the pedestrians.“We are taking an alternate bypass road which is 4.5 kms long but the unfortunate thing of this road is that it is not yet fit for vehicular traffic,” the residents told KNS.As per KNS correspondent, the bypass road though fully macadamized is not so wide for two-way traffic.“On one side of the road is paddy fields and other side of the road is a stream without a bund.
The road is not safe for driving condition to drive and no street lighting is installed on it,” the residents said.“The other unfortunate thing of this road is that its passage is through the slide prone area which is not yet protected. And now the district administration has ordered the passage of both army as well as the paramilitary forces to ply on this road,” they said.When contacted Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Rajeev Ranjan refused to answer queries from KNS. Instead, he asked his security guard to take this reporter out of his office.Rural Development Minister Abdul Haq Khan did not picked up the phone.Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ah Khan said that he will look into the matter with concerned authority and assured restoration of the Zangli Garrison road. (KNS)