Bridge on Sudhwala-Suyian road awaits completion during past 7 yrs

Snail’s pace work on Sudhwala-Suyian bridge in Mendhar.
Snail’s pace work on Sudhwala-Suyian bridge in Mendhar.

Excelsior Correspondent
MENDHAR, July 28: Roads and Building (R&B) Department has failed to complete the construction of bridge on Sudhwala-Suyian road in Mendhar area of district Poonch even after laying foundation stone about seven years ago.
Missing several deadlines, the construction of the bridge was started in June 2013 at an estimated cost of Rs 54 lakh and was supposed to be completed in March 2015.
A group of locals at Suyian said that despite passing many deadlines, the Government is yet to complete the project making people to face inconvenience of all sorts. They alleged that the work has been going on at a snail’s pace while people continue to suffer and take other routes in the area due to flood.
Abdul Rehman Khan, a local at Suyian said it is a completely a failure of the Government. People living in the area extended cooperation to the authorities but they have failed to complete the project within the stipulated time, he said.
Another local shopkeeper said it has become a routine for the authorities to initiate a project, construct some pillars or plinth and then abandon it.
“It is unfortunate that Government always extends deadlines rather than making officials accountable for their failure to complete projects on time,” he said.
“The bridge was to be completed in 2015 but the deadline was extended to 2018. We don’t know whom to blame. A decade has passed since the work on the bridge was started and it is still incomplete,” he added.