Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Oct 21: Several projects in Kashmir await for completion even after their construction work was started years ago.
Take for instance, the work on a 20 metre bridge at Khaag in central Kashmir's Budgam district was started in 2010 but is yet to be completed.
"We are facing immense inconveniences due to no-completion of the bridge. The government has to construct just 20 metres of this bridge but is yet to be completed," said Adil Ahmad, a local resident of Khaag.
There are at least five bridge in Budgam on which work has been started years ago but still await for completion.
"Nobody is bothered to complete these bridges," he added.
An official of Roads and Buildings Department said government has set up deadline of 2021 for completion of all these bridges in Budgam district.
Similarly, In 2009 authorities started expansion of the Syed Meerak Shah Road from Dalgate to Zakura, primarily for facilitating smooth flow of vehicular movement through congested areas of old city Srinagar.
The widening project for the 10.33 kilometer road estimated at Rs 336.24 crore was aimed to serve as key surface link to old city Srinagar, Hazratbal shrine and the University of Kashmir.
But the project is still yet to be completed.
Similarly, the state needs Rs 759 crore more to buy land for semi ring road projects in Srinagar and Jammu cities.
A source said farmers were not willing to sell land at the prices offered by the government. The work on the Rs 3833-crore project, whose foundation was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slowed down because of the fund shortage.
About 12,450 kanals of land is to be acquired for the roads, out of which 10,911 kanals are agricultural land.
Similarly, over two dozen big projects-each worth Rs 1000 crore or more-in the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) for J&K announced three years ago are stuck at various stages.
For instance, the detailed project reports have been submitted in few projects of the 13 road and tunnel projects. For completion of projects, the Anantnag district requires Rs 200 crore, while Baramulla district needs Rs 104 crore for completion of projects. "There has been hardly any progress in these projects," the source said. |
