Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Aug 27: Despite the passage of 14-years since the project began, the construction of 28-kilometer stretch between Bandipora and Lolab in North Kashmir is incomplete, with officials saying that the project is yet to get Government approval.
The project began in 2007 at a cost of roughly Rs 1.48 crores, and in 2011, the roads and buildings department completed the earth cutting on a 5-kilometer segment between Binlipora and Ketsen as part of the project.
The work was halted five years later, in 2016, after the Forest Department objected, claiming that the project would affect the forest cover. Since then the project has been on hold with locals expressing their displeasure with the authorities’ indifference to this crucial project.
To overcome the impasse, the administration proposed building a tunnel connecting Anderbugh Lolab and Chechinar Bandipora, which would enhance trade and link the two districts’ populations.
According to officials of Roads and Buildings Department, the detailed project report for the construction of the double-lane tunnel has been sent to the Government for approval. “But there has been no progress on the project for the last many years. The work will not resume unless administrative approval is given,” an official said.
Locals feel that a second route to Srinagar via Bandipora has been long overdue, as it will help their economy. They argued that by connecting Lolab and Bandipora via Alosa, both districts’ economies would benefit from increased visitor traffic.
“Because Lolab has only one access to participate socially and commercially with other regions of Kashmir, and that is through Kupwara, the initiative would benefit a large population of 2.5 lakh people in the two districts,” locals said.
They lamented in absence of the connecting link people travel over 150 kilometers to reach Srinagar and serious patients referred to Srinagar hospitals frequently die while traveling from Lolab to Srinagar due to the great distance.
Imtiyaz Ahmad, the Chief Planning Officer of Bandipora, told Excelsior that the project is yet to get official permission. “The construction of the road is the dream of inhabitants of both districts, but the government is yet to take a call on it,” he said.
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