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| Jammu Jogging –Riverside Dream Project in Doldrums | | JDA’s JOGGER’s PARK | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 30: It is a riverside dream which is struck up at the banks and the river does not have even its image. Then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had dreamt of a healthy Jammu jogging along Tawi River, he conceived the project and would visit construction site more frequently than any other project. 18 months after Azad’s departure the jogging dream is yet to take off.
Jammu Development Authority (JDA), which has been entrusted the job of constructing the park, has virtually stopped the work, pleading paucity of “sufficient funds”.
Interestingly, the park was used as a parking lot on Republic Day as the Traffic Police Department, had diverted the traffic from different routes heading towards MA Stadium for JDA’s parking behind Hotel Fortune Inn Riveria and the proposed site for jogger’s park on the bank of river Tawi.
Furthermore, internal squabble between two prime bodies viz Department of Irrigation & Flood Control and JDA over construction of this park also resulted into delay in start of the project.
Sources said that the project was envisaged by the former Chief Minister and Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad but it could not take off during his term as the then coalition partner, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had withdrew its support over Amarnath land imbroglio which had forced Azad to step down from Chief Ministership in 2008.
Sources further said that the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control had identified 75 kanals of land in the vicinity of Exhibition Ground. It was proposed to develop jogger’s park, walkway, green area and recreational areas for children on the bank of river Tawi.
“Though the Irrigation and Flood Control department had constructed a protection wall along the river Tawi, yet the project of this park is in doldrums. The park is seems to be nobody’s baby as the iron fencing along the road, heading towards Gujjar Nagar from Dogra Chowk, have been erected by the JDA while the protection wall was constructed by the Irrigation department,” Sanjay Sharma, an physician at Gumat area told Early Times.
He regretted, “The projects of constructing two parks, one at Trikuta Nagar (near Railway Station) and other in the vicinity of Exhibition Ground were taken concurrently. It is to our dismay that the part at Trikuta Nagar has been opened for general public few backs when Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand had inaugurated it but the work on jogger’s park here has been stopped without any specific reason.”
The Physician questioned, “If the people living in posh Trikuta Nagar locality have been benefited with green areas, have the middle class people living in Gumat, Gujjar Nagar and its adjoining localities no right to avail this facility?”
When contacted, G A Qureshi, Vice Chairman JDA, said “The work on the project has been stopped due to shortage of funds. The total estimated cost of constructing park along the river Tawi is about Rs 3 crore and the work would soon be restarted after getting sufficient funds from the State Government.”
He informed, “The protection wall was constructed by Irrigation and Flood Control department but the outer fencing was done by the JDA. Earlier, it was undecided that which agency would execute the work. After hectic deliberations, JDA was entrusted with the job to complete the project.”
Maintaining that “the things are moving around”, Qureshi said that the project would now be completed next year.
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