Srinagar- In the wake of a deadly boat capsizing incident in Srinagar, a glaring spotlight has fallen on the various unfinished bridges scattered across Kashmir. The tragedy, which claimed lives, has reignited concerns about the safety of residents who have to rely on boats to cross rivers.
According to an official from Roads and Building department (R&B), the construction of over 15 crucial bridges and around 07 footbridges in the Kashmir valley remains unfinished, despite commencing more than a decade ago.
The official told Kashmir Observer that over 50 percent of the work on most of these bridges have been completed and efforts are on to finish the work on all the bridges in this financial year.
“The work on the bridges got stalled due to multiple factors including paucity of funds, issues with the contractors and land acquisition,” the official said.
The work on a number of bridges were taken-up by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) that was merged with R&B department.
While some areas have alternative crossings, others are left with the risky option of using boats to navigate the rivers. Notably, on Tuesday six people died while three are still missing after a boat capsized while crossing the river Jhelum in Batwara area of Srinagar city.
The locals allege that the footbridge connecting Gundbal with the rest of the city remains unfinished for over seven years.
Kashmir Observer spoke to a number of people from across Kashmir who claimed that due to the unavailability of the bridges, they are forced to cross the rivers especially Jhelum through boats—which are unsafe and there’s always a risk of drowning.
Mohammad Aabas, a resident of south Kashmir’s Pulwama, told Kashmir Observer that the construction of a vital bridge in Dogripora area of Pulwama district was started in 2006 by the R&B department and it hasn’t been completed yet.
“17 years have passed, the government has completely failed to construct the bridge that connects Dogripora with rest of the district of south Kashmir,” Aabas said.
The locals said that the incomplete bridge forces them to travel over 20 kilometers to reach the national highway, when it should only take 10 minutes.
“The project is now languishing and we don’t know when the work will start on it,” said Iftiqar Ahmad Najar, another resident of Dogripora.
He further said that in this age of “digital world” people of his village are still seeking the help of boats to cross the river Jhelum.
Similarly, in North Kashmir’s Sumbal area a bridge in the main market remains unfinished. Initiated in the year 2014 by National Conference leader Mohammad Akbar Lone, the bridge was intended to connect various areas like Nesbal, Naninar, Safapora with Sumbal.
“The people, especially school going kids and the business community face a lot of problems in the absence of the bridge,” said Nazir Ahmad, president Traders Federation Sumbal.
Ahmad alleged that the construction agency wasn’t serious in carrying out the work and left the construction mid way.
“It has been more than a decade, no official has bothered to take-up the project,” Ahmad added.
Sajid Dar, a resident of Shilwat Sonawari told Kashmir Observer that the work on the bridge in his area has been going on for many years but has missed several deadlines.
“At least three bridges in our Sumbal area have been left without commissioning,” he added.
In Kupwara, construction of a bridge over the Pohru River in Malpora village has dragged on for a staggering 11 years. A similar story unfolds in Ganderbal district, where a bridge at Akhal which connects dozens of villages in Ganderbal with Kangan Sub-Division, is incomplete for the past 14 years.
In Srinagar, the work on a new bridge at Pandrethan area that connected Qamarwari area with Soura, Hazratbal and Ganderbal remains unattended for over 10 years.
Sajad Naqeeb Chief Engineer R&B Central Kashmir told Kashmir Observer the government has started an initiative to complete the bridges that are languishing and work on them will be completed in this financial year.
Notably, in 2018, the government of Jammu & Kashmir took a landmark decision to fund all the languishing projects which were left halfway for want of funds through Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Fund Corporation (JKIDFC).
However, the inordinate delay in the construction of bridges in different parts of the valley has left locals dismayed.
“The recent incident in Srinagar has left people in shock and the people living on the banks of river Jhelum are apprehensive that this type of incident might happen again,” said Akthar Rasool, a resident of North Kashmir’s Pattan.
According to the R&B department, they have identified 622 languishing projects across the all districts which were approved at a cost of Rs 1446.73 Cr through JKIDFC funding.
They said that a large number of projects at different stages of development were left half way due to inadequate funding or other reasons.
“It was observed that a good number of projects were languishing for more than 7 to 8 years and investment made on them was in a way wasteful expenditure whereas the public remained discontented,” the department said.
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