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| 7 vital bridges still being completed, HCC seeks money to clear debris, PWD refuses to take over incomplete road | | Mughal road delay story continues, now July 2013 deadline | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Jan 27: Amid vehement claims of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) and State Public Works Department (WPD), the political significant and strategically important Mughal road is all set to miss fifth deadline of March 2013 since the work began in the year 2005.
4 to 5 feet snow has resulted in complete halt on the bridge building and road construction work. Tussle between PWD and HCC over who would clear the debris after major slip and slide (landslide) instances is likely to further delay the completion of this prestigious project. HCC has asked the state to pay extra money to them for clearing landslides on Mughal Road. Government is yet to respond.
While this was going on, the engineers came up with another innovative idea of construction of a tunnel on the Pir Panchal pass from Chattapani to Zaznar in order to keep the Mughal road open for traffic throughout the year. Explaining the need for the tunnel engineers said that clearance of medium snowfall other 63-km Mughal road length was feasible but it was difficult to carry out snow clearance operations other 21-km road stretch as it gets buried under heavy snow.
They said that between December and March this 21-km long road stretch gets lashed by heavy snow and blizzards. Since this road stretch is located at 3000 metres altitude, it was not an easy task to carry out snow clearance. The only way out is constructing a tunnel at this high altitude site. Though this may take another 6 to 7 years alongwith several hundred crores of the central funding, the road is presently stuck because of the unwarranted delay in the completion of 3 major and 7 minor bridges.
Sources said that work is likely to be completed by June 2013 on 3 major bridges located at Dubjan, Zaznar and Lalgulam on the Shopian side. That too only if the weather permits. On the Poonch side, four bridges at Bafliaz, Taned, Chattapani and Rattachamb would take another four months once the work begins after the snow clearance. According to officials, the work is likely to start in April 2013.
They said that if S.P.Singla Construction Company (SPSCC) would not have unnecessarily delayed the construction of Bridges, road would have become operational by now. The contract for construction of all the three bridges was allotted to SP Singla Construction Company Ltd in the month of Oct, 2010 and they took up the execution in October 2011. After taking up the execution, sources said that the change in weather did not allow the Singla group to do much.
Further, sources said that overall finishing of two bridges at kanipora and Heerpora was not satisfactory since no provision had been kept for footpath along railing of the bridges. If the PWD officials are to be believed, they attribute slow progress to the weather variations which result in the triggering down of the mud/landslides at various places. They maintain that HCC's refusal to clear the debris from the road is likely to further delay the completion of road project.
Officials said that HCC has been demanding extra-money, when the state should have by now penalized HCC for delay in completing the project on time. They added that Since the working season on the stretch of road from Shopian to Peer Ki Gali is generally from late April to October only, HCC as well as Singla both need to be pulled up for working on the project in at least two shifts during this period;
Sources further said that since HCC has been unable to adhere to the deadline which it had set for the completion of the project and is not ready to clear the debris after major slip and slide (landslide) instances, penalty should be imposed on the company. "How can we take over the road until is not complete in all aspects. HCC should first sign the fitness certificate and then, hand over the road to us. They claim of setting standards and it is their duty not to leave this project half-done," said an official of PWD seeking anonymity.
Minister for Roads and Buildings Abdul Majid Wani has already said that cost overruns due to undue and unnecessary delays in works shall be exclusive liability of the companies engaged in the construction of Mughal road. Wani has asked the executing agencies to stick to the targeted timeframe for completion of development works as delays result in escalation of project costs. He has asked the concerned engineers and executing agencies working on the Mughal road project to complete all the seven major bridges coming under the project by the end of May this year.
Pertinently Mughal road is long saga of missed deadlines. The original project was of Rs 255 crores, but the delays since 2006 escalated the cost and recently a central team revised the cost to Rs. 639.85 crore to accommodate construction of double-lane, seven major bridges, 21 minor bridges and 263 culverts.
In November 2009, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a ride along the ancient 84-km Shopian-Bafliaz stretch of the Mughal road in a cavalcade from Dubjan to Peer Ki Gaali.
Mughal road will join Kashmir with Poonch and Rajouri districts of the Jammu division. It will take only four hours to reach Jammu region. Otherwise it takes nine hours from Srinagar to reach Jammu and another eight hours to reach Bafliaz, the other end of the Shopian road. |
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