Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Dec 8: The prevailing situation is turned out to be blessing in disguise for the RAMKY as the construction company escaped penalty which National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) was likely to impose on it for failing to meet this year’s deadline on an overhead bridge at Lasjan Junction on city outskirts.
The NHAI had decided to penalize the construction company this year as the pending work was unlikely to finish on set deadline. “We had planned to impose penalty on the company for its non-compliance,” an official with the NHAI said.
However, the company took advantage of the situation that developed after the 5th August in Jammu and Kashmir and earned itself more time for the project as NHAI dropped the idea of imposing penalty. “The company could not complete the projects due to the situation. We cannot penalize in such circumstances,” Hemraj Bhagat, Public Relations Officer NHAI, told Excelsior.
Since the commencement of the project in 2011, the company has missed multiple deadlines. The bridge was supposed to get completed in 2014 but the company failed to deliver. Subsequently, the second deadline was fixed as 31th July 2016 which was also missed by the company.
Following the opening of new alignment of NH-44 from Pampore-Lasjan Byepass, an overhead bridge was allotted on an important junction near Lasjan area on the highway. The move was aimed to achieve the grade separation for the smooth flow of traffic moving towards Baramulla and Pampore Bypass.
The inordinate delay is causing problems of commuting for thousands of people who cross the junction every day. They claim that the ongoing works obstructs vehicular movement. “It is a daunting task to cross this stretch especially during the peak hours. The commuters are caught in traffic for hours. There is no alternative arrangement made to resolve,” Adil Ahmad, a commuter told Excelsior.
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