Anurag Thakur Slams Highway Contractor Over Negligence: “This Isn’t a Road—People Have Been Using Ropes to Reach Their Homes for Six Months”

Mandi, July 14:
Negligence in the construction of the Jalandhar–Atari–Mandi National Highway (NH-003) has turned into a major ordeal for locals in the Dharampur region. The distress came to light during a one-day visit by former Union Minister and MP Anurag Thakur, as residents voiced their grievances over the poor state of the highway being built by BRN Company.

Locals informed the MP that for the past six months, several families have been reaching their homes using ropes, as the road and retaining walls have collapsed and no alternate path has been restored. A visibly distressed woman broke down in tears, explaining that their access routes are completely destroyed, and climbing up to their homes now means putting their lives at risk.

Clearly angered by the situation, Anurag Thakur publicly reprimanded BRN Project Director Jitendra Pandey, questioning why, despite having expert engineers on site, retaining walls continue to collapse and roads remain unusable. “Either the company is being grossly negligent or it’s colluding with contractors,” Thakur said.

He directed the officials on the spot to immediately compensate affected families and rebuild the damaged retaining walls without delay. He also ordered the project director and other company representatives to be present at the upcoming Disha Committee meeting on July 15 to address these issues formally.

The 22-kilometre stretch from Dharampur to Kotli is being constructed by two firms—BRN and Surya Construction—and both companies are facing public outrage over alleged mismanagement and poor execution. Notably, on June 20, residents in Talyad had also staged a protest during a visit by a central road ministry team.