Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Mar 22: Although construction work on Srinagar ring road has slowed down due to the winters, officials are optimistic that progress will pick up at a brisk pace next week and assure the project will be completed ahead of schedule by February 2024.
Last year, the project gained momentum after experiencing limited progress during the initial years due to a range of roadblocks, including challenges associated with compensating affected landowners. However, those issues have been resolved, and the project had been moving at a good pace until the winter season slowed it down.
Indresh Kumar, Project Director for the National Highways Authority of India, told Excelsior that the work on the project never stopped, but certain tasks such as concrete and bitumen work could not be carried out in low temperatures. He, however, assured the people that the project is not facing any issues and will be completed ahead of schedule by February 2024.
Kumar further said that work would resume at its original pace when the temperature improves. “Currently, 60% of the labour force has arrived, with the remaining workers expected to join within the next week. Despite initial progress, the work has encountered delays due to inclement weather. However, once the weather clears up, we anticipate the project to pick up pace within the next 10 days,” he said.
The project was part of the Prime Minister’s Development Project (PMDP) for Jammu and Kashmir and its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. However, the project’s development was halted due to a delay in acquiring land from the affected landowners.
“Compensating the affected landowners took some time, which led to initial delays. However, that issue was settled last year, and the compensation has been given to almost all the farmers,” an official privy to the details said.
He added the project involves building a 60.84-kilometer-long, four-lane semi-ring road in two phases. Phase-I involves building a 42-km section of road from Galander to Narbal, which will link Sumbal in the Bandipora district with Galandar, close to Pampore town. Phase II involves building an additional 18.84-km stretch of four-lane road from Narbal to Ganderbal. “The project’s construction involves building 400 structures, including culverts and bridges, along the road section, and work on the majority of them is underway,” he said.
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