Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, May 9: Residents of Keelam and adjoining villages in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district are facing hardships as a bridge across the Vaishaw Nallah is incomplete for the last eight years, causing problems in commuting for thousands of people living in the area.
The work on the 175 metres bridge was started in 2010. So far, only half of the work is completed forcing people to take long routes to reach the district headquarters and the Srinagar Jammu National Highway. The bridge is being constructed by the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation over the Vaishaw stream at an estimated cost of Rs 14.75 crore.
The locals demanded that the work on the bridge should be speeded up and it should be made motorable at the earliest. “It has been more than eight years that the vital bridge remains incomplete. We are facing grave difficulties due to the incomplete bridge and urge the authorities to complete its construction in a stipulated time,” said Mohammad Sultan Bhat, a local.
The locals told Excelsior that bridge would have not only connected them to the other villages but also cut their travelling time to highway considerably. “The bridge would have reduced our travel time by an hour. Right now we have to take longer routes, through Qoimoh and through Pahloo to reach the National Highway and it take us more than an hour to reach there,” Abdul Majeed, a local of Ashmuji told Excelsior. He said that the villagers have been requesting the concerned authorities to speed up the work, but to no avail.
Ghulam Hassan Dar, Deputy Manager, Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) said the work on the bridge was suspended for nearly six months due to scarcity of funds. “The work on the bridge was suspended for nearly six months and that delayed the completion. The work has resumed now. We have already forwarded the requisition for funds,” he said, adding the work was resumed despite the dearth of funds.
While divulging the details he said out of the 11 spans, the work on eight is nearing completion. “Girders have been launched for eight spans and the pending spans are incomplete due to lack of funds,” he said, adding the material for the girders have to be procured from the Steel Authority of India that requires the payment in advance.
He further said that the local administration has assured smooth flow of funds. “We discussed the issue with the local administration last week and were assured that funds will be released. If funds are released regularly, we will be able to complete the bridge this year,” he said.
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