Excelsior Correspondent
-Excelsior/ Amin War04
SRINAGAR, June 4: Srinagar’s two vital bridges over river Jhelum at Rajbagh have missed another deadline, with the executing agencies completing only 25 per cent of the work for the last two years.
The renovation of the heritage Zero bridge was started in May 2012 at the cost of Rs 2.3 crore and it was to be completed by January 2013, but due to official apathy the bridge couldn’t be completed on time.
A top official of Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC), wishing anonymity said that renovation of the bridge missed the deadline despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s directions in 2012 that the bridge should be restored in 9 months.
“The restoration work on Zero bridge was supposed to be completed in January 2013, and it was likely to be thrown open for traffic by January, but paucity of funds and casual attitude of the contractor was the reason that it was not made functional till now,” he said.
The work on the wooden bridge, constructed in 1950 was taken by JKPCC in April 2012 and for the past more than two-years; the JKPCC has completed only 30 per cent of the project work.
Similarly, another bridge near Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School, Rajbagh across the river is heading to miss the deadline of its completion scheduled in December this year, as only some 25 percent work has been done after the lapse of more than two years.
A top official of the agency said that Government has sanctioned an approximate amount of Rs 12.37 crore for the construction of 120-metre-long bridge. He said it can’t be completed within its stipulated time of three years, which is December 2014, due to slow pace of work on it.
The bridge was supposed to reduce the traffic load on Abdullah Bridge where long traffic jams are witnessed at the peak hours in the morning and evening and also to reduce the traffic flow in Polo ground area.
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