Excelsior Correspondent
RAMBAN, Feb 16: The work on the double tube 8.5 kilometer Animal-Qazigund tunnel resumed late evening today after remaining suspended for a day.
Hundreds of labourers went on a sudden strike today, affecting the ongoing work on the double-tube Banihal-Qazigund tunnel along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, officials said.
The tunnel is nearing completion and is expected to be opened for public use by March-end.
“Local labourers stayed away from work and also did not allow any type of work by skilled and unskilled non-local workers since morning”, officials said.
They added that the labourers were agitating over wages that are pending since August last year, although officials of the private construction company have claimed that the firm has already paid the money to the contractor concerned and there is no pendency of wages towards the labour force.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Banihal, Zaheer Abbas and Station House Officer (SHO) Banihal Nayeem-Ul-Haq met the protesting labourers, but they refused to resume work till the payment was made to them, the officials said.
They said after hectic efforts, the issue was resolved in the evening and work was restored at the prestigious project.
The work on the Rs 2,100-crore project was started in June 2011 by the Navayuga Engineering Company. Once completed, the tunnel would reduce the distance between Banihal in Jammu province and Qazigund in south Kashmir to 16 kilometer from the present 35 km and bypass the Jawahar Tunnel and the Shaitan Nalla, which are prone to heavy snowfall and slippery conditions during winters.
The work on the project was delayed for several reasons in the last 10 years and many deadlines were missed due to the unexpected land condition inside the tunnel, alleged financial crisis in the construction company and certain issues related to local landlords and company workers.
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