Drivers, passengers irked by lousy Salang highway

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Drivers and passengers complain of the deteriorating condition of the road in the Salang district of central Parwan province and asked the government for its reconstruction on priority.

Salang Pass, located 3,950 metres above the sea level, connects the entire country with northern provinces. But the road remains busy throughout the year and its current condition is forcing drivers and passengers to take more time reaching their destinations.

Shah Agha, the driver of a trailer, told Pajhwok Afghan News most of the road passing through the tunnel was broken and bumpy.

“About a 33-kilometre stretch of the road between southern and northern Salang is damaged eight percent. It takes drivers three additional hours to pass through thr area,” he grumbled.

Aziz Agha, a passenger, said: “The road has been in pitiable condition over the past several years. Water accumulates on the road, littered with boulders. As a result, light and heavy vehicles experience multiple problems plying this part of the highway snaking through mountains.”

Agha added: “I want the Islamic Emirate to pay due attention to the bad condition of the road. Drivers and passengers are facing problems. Inside the tunnel, the highway is in even worse shape. Previously, we would take four to five hours going from Kabul to Pul-i-Khumri. But now the journey takes up to seven hours.”

Mohammad Wahid, a trucker from southern Ghazni province who transports carpets from Balkh to Kabul, said he was fed up with driving on the road passing through the Salang tunnel.

Public Works Ministry spokesman Maulvi Hameedullah Misbah, meanwhile, said a plan for the rehabilitation of the Salang Pass had been prepared and would be implemented soon.

He added the graveling work had already been carried out by the Salang Pass Protection and Maintenance Authority.

nh/mud

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