Dehradun, Apr 8 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Thursday announced to widen the Nandprayag-Ghat motor road in Chamoli district to one and a half lanes fulfilling a long-standing demand of the people of the area.

Villagers of the Nandprayag-Ghat area have been agitating for months demanding the widening of the stretch to 1.5 lanes and the announcement is being seen as the most significant since Tirath Singh took over as chief minister.

The narrow, single-lane motor road at present was causing several hardships to the people of the area.

Making the announcement, Rawat asked officials to issue a Government Order (GO) soon to this effect.

He also directed finance, planning and PWD officials to initiate steps on the ground for widening the road.

Villagers of the area agitating for months over the issue had clashed with the police while trying to stage a march to Gairsain Vidhan Sabha during the state assembly's budget session in March this year.

Police had to resort to a mild lathicharge and burst water cannons to disperse the agitators sparking a protest by the Opposition which had demanded an apology from the state government terming it as "coercive action" against people who had a right to protest.

The crackdown on agitating villagers was also considered by political observers here as one of the factors behind the exit of Trivendra Singh Rawat as chief minister.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)