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| At year-end, Tourism Department appears at Khiram Shrine to execute works | | |  SAAHIL SUHAIL
Early Times Report
ANANTNAG, Mar 21: For remaining silent and invisible for about eleven months, the Tourism Department appeared this month at the famed religious shrine -Khiram Dargah-to execute developmental works.
Under, Product Infrastructure and Destination Circuit Dev Scheme (PIDDC), the Central Government had released Rs 3.80 Cr for the development of premises of Khiram Hazratbal Shrine of South Kashmir's Anantnag.
The project has been under execution since 2013 and people of village Khiram and adjacent villages are largely unsatisfied with the department.
According to reports, the engineers of the Tourism Department approached the government appointed Shrine Management Committee for the construction of a wall.
The appearance of engineers at the shrine has amazed the local population.
"We genuinely don't know what they have done since 2013. The dormitory and library constructed by the Tourism Department still lack some equipment. The department was supposed to install some high-mask lights but they haven't," a group of locals told Early Times.
They alleged that the department hasn't even shared the DPR of the project with the local population. "Most people don't know what the department was supposed to do and the nature works they had to execute," they added.
Locals said that several other departments, including Rural Development Department, Road & Buildings and Shrine Management Committee have also executed works inside the premises as such it is too difficult to segregate the works.
In 2018, the department had also started the construction of foot bridge to connect the shrine premises with the main road, however later the department abandoned its construction.
Insiders revealed to Early Times that construction of the bridge was stopped under political pressure.
Executive Engineer Tourism Department Syed Zahoor assured that the construction of foot-bridge would start in next financial year.
District Development Council Member, Nisar Ahmad Mir, who himself visited Khiram Shrine said that he was shocked to see that the toilet block constructed by the department has developed cracks.
"That toilet hasn't been put to use but it was shockingly developed cracks," he said, adding he will seek all details from the concerned department.
He said that if the claims of withdrawing bills of unexecuted works were found correct then he would forward this case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. |
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