Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, July 19: The two vital bridges over Sind river in Kangan area of Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district remained incomplete because of the poor execution of work right from the stage of laying the foundation in 2012.
The Government approved the projects nine years ago with an intention to provide all-weather connectivity to two remote neighborhoods -Akhal and Tangchetre- of Kangan. The plan was to improve connectivity by building two motorable bridges in these areas. However, these bridges remain unfinished despite passaging nine years, causing immense hardships to the residents.
Officials privy to the details told Excelsior that the construction work faced delays right from the beginning as scarcity of funds marred the projects. To tackle funding, he said, the government listed the bridges under languishing projects in 2018. “Even then the construction work faced delays as the executing agency took extra time to complete the paperwork,” he said.
He said that the work remained suspended despite the availability of funds as the bridges lacked the technical sanction which was a pre-requisite under the new financial guidelines. “We received technical sanctions three months back. In fact, these are the first bridges to be awarded technical sanctions from the Chief Engineer,” he added.
The locals lamented that in absence of the “much needed” connecting links they have to use dangerous makeshift bridges to reach the other side. “Everyone here is scared to walk across the damaged bridge, but they have no other option. The bridge is dangerous in the rainy season as the river swells. The wet surface makes it slippery and a person can fall into the gushing waters of the river,” Muhammad Adil, a local from Tangchetre said, adding that the rickety bridges are a death trap for commuters.
Residents said that they have demanded the authorities to build the bridges, but little has been done. “We have repeatedly staged a protest and blocked the Srinagar- Leh Highway but to no avail”, Abdul Rasheed, a local, added.
The officials at Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation Limited (JKPCC), which was executing the projects, said that the work on the Akal bridge was going on in full swing but work on Tangchetre Bridge was yet to resume because of poor response from contractors.
“The contractors are struggling to meet the new financial guidelines. We have issued the tenders and are expecting a good response this time. We will allot the tenders in next two weeks,” General Manager JKPCC, Farooq Ahmad, told Excelsior.
He said they have lodged one span of the Tangchetre bridge and dumped 60 percent of the material for the second span. “The bridge will be complete soon,” he said.
For Akhal, he said, the earlier contract was cancelled as it was not in tune with the new financial guidelines. “We cancelled earlier allotment as it was not applicable. Under new financial guidelines, the contractor has to buy everything for the project,” he said.
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