‘Bridge Of Broken Promises’

Srinagar- For years, the Gandbal bridge had been the collective groan of the morning commute, a rusty skeletal frame to perpetually unfulfilled promises.  As they bobbed along in boats across the Jhelum River, conversations inevitably turned to the bridge. While construction began years ago, progress seemed to crawl.  Residents might jokingly nudge each other and say, “Maybe next year,” with a hint of longing in their voices.

Yesterday, however, the familiar grumbling morphed into a different kind of murmur – one laced with shock and grief. A boat carrying mostly school children capsized in the Jhelum river, leaving six people dead and many others missing.

The heart-wrenching wails of mothers and the hollow cries of devastated fathers echoed off the incomplete bridge – a cruel monument to lives cut short.

The bridge has now become a focal point of people’s anger who say that an Overpass could have averted tragedy. The residents of Gandbal slammed the authorities for their inability to finish constructing a footbridge that would connect the area with the rest of Srinagar city.

According to reports, the bridge was sanctioned in 2011 next to the old dilapidated bridge. By March 2018, it missed the second deadline claiming floods and lack of funds. 

“Despite protests and constant calls for completion about the dangers of boarding overcrowded fishing boats and especially since the facility goes off in the evening due to the area being a ‘high security’ zone. A bureaucrat claimed in 2018 that it will be finished in two months,” a social media post read.

Locals told Kashmir Observer that the construction of the bridge was started in 2016 by the R&B department, however till date the work hasn’t been completed. 

“The bridge construction has dragged on for years,” said Shabir Ahmed, a resident of Gandbal. “Locals are forced to use boats to cross the river. If the bridge had been completed, this tragedy could have been avoided.”

Abdul Rashid, another local, said that the work was going at snail pace for the last seven years and the residents had taken-up this issue with the authorities a couple of times.

“However, despite repeated pleas there was no positive response,” Rashid said, adding, “ Now, after the loss of precious lives, maybe they’ll finally complete the bridge.” 

“Who stole their tomorrows? Who is accountable for these young lives lost in a river, when a bridge could have saved them?” a young boy lamented.

He stressed that this tragedy struck just 3 kilometers from the smart city hub of Lal Chowk. “The unfinished bridge stands as a stark reminder of the gaps between development promises and the realities faced by residents.”

Notably, the valley is witnessing heavy rainfall from the last four days, due to which the water level in Jhelum river has swollen.

Sajad Ahmad Naqeeb, Chief Engineer R&B Central Kashmir, told Kashmir Observer that the work on the footbridge began in 2018 at the cost of Rs 4.76 Crore, however, he added that there was a lack of “dedicated funding” .

“The width of the bridge was 1.8 meters but when the department started work on the bridge, the locals requested to make the bridge motorable,” he said, adding, “the basic parameters of the bridge got changed.” 

He further said after 2019, the whole new process was initiated and the work is going on  rigorously. He mentioned the width of the bridge is now 4.1 meters and it can be converted into a motorable one, once the land is acquired from both sides of the bridge. 

“The bridge has three spans and out of which two have been completed already,” he said.

The construction of the third span, he said, will be completed in the month of June 2024. 

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