| Kashmir ‘breaks Bihar record’ in corruption, under construction bridge collapses | | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
Srinagar, May 19: The collapse of an under construction bridge on river Jhelum in the summer capital of Srinagar has exposed the level of alleged corruption in Kashmir with many saying the incident has seemingly “broken the record of Bihar.”
On May 10, an under-construction bridge collapsed in the Noorbagh area of Srinagar.
However, no one was hurt in the incident. The incident happened around 4 pm.
On hearing the loud sound, the nearby residents rushed to the site and informed the authorities about the bridge collapse.
Notably, the bridge is an important link as it connects the Old City, Soura and other areas with North Kashmir.
The construction of the new bridge was started in the year 2011, but in the last nearly one decade, it missed several deadlines.
An official said the investigation in this regard has been set into motion and strict action against persons involved will be taken.
Many compare this incident of glaring corruption with that in Bihar.
On July 16, 2020, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar was left red-faced after a bridge, part of a Rs 264-crore infrastructure project inaugurated just a month ago, was washed away by a swollen Gandak river at Gopalganj district.
The small bridge, along with an approach road and a longer bridge, connected Gopalgang to Chhapra and other districts. The government had spent Rs 264 crore on the entire 12-km long stretch.
Work on it had begun in 2012 and the project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, through video conferencing, on 16 June, 2020.
The Chief Minister had inaugurated the bridge in view of the upcoming assembly polls last year. The demand for a bridge over Gandak river to Kesaria town in East Champaran district was a popular one.
Its collapse, however, became an embarrassment for the Nitish government with the opposition trying to pin it as another corruption case under the present regime.
The Bihar incident is being compared with Kashmir. “In Bihar the bridge had at least survived till its inauguration but here in Kashmir it collapsed even before that and thus exposes that the level of corruption in Kashmir is even higher, unfortunately though,” said a senior official on the condition of anonymity. |
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