Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, July 26: In North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, commuters are having a tough time due to slow pace of construction work on 24 kilometres stretch of road from Safapora to Bandipora.
The locals of the area said since the commencement of the project last month, they had seen no progress and were wondering when would the road complete given the slow pace of work. “The contractors moved some of the equipment and raw material to the site but work has not picked up yet. Only temporary repair work was done some 20 days back and after that nothing has happened,” Bilal Ahmad, a local, said.
He said the potholes have resurfaced at several places which were giving tough time to the commuters and many motorists have stopped to ply their vehicles on the stretch. “The craters which were filled some days back have once again opened which is giving tough time to commuters. These unruly rough roads discourage the motorist to ply on the road which affects the business badly,” he said.
The locals of several areas including Saderkoot, Nusoo, Ajas, Sumbal and Garoora alleged that traffic woes were mainly caused by the deplorable condition of the road and commuters had to spend twice as much time on the roads. “Because of poor roads, it takes us double the time to reach Srinagar. The journey is so unpleasant that the desire for the destination wanes on the way,” Owais Ahmad, a resident of Bandipora Town, said.
He said the dust that comes out of the rough road surface causes throat infections during the dry season while the puddled water during the rainy season made the road non-motorable. “Many vehicles have broken down due to appalling condition of the road,” the Bandipora resident added.
Chief Engineer (CE) of Roads and Buildings (R&B) department, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, when contacted said the road would be built as per the proper standards and the pre-macadamization process has already been started. “The pre macadamization process including ensuring proper drainage and a solid surface is underway. It cannot be done overnight and will take some time. We are more concerned about the quality of the road,” he said.
The Chief Engineer informed that there was no dearth of funds and they had received an amount of Rs. 18 crores for the first phase of the project. “Five to eight kilometre stretch of the road will be complete in the phase first of the project and the rest will be taken up in second phase for which the project has been already sent for approval,” he said.
He further went on to say that the road was under Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and their department has taken it over a few months back. “Soon after receiving No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BRO, we immediately started the repair work. We will make sure that people have the better road as it is a vital connecting link,” the Chief Engineer added.
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