The link between Jahangir Chowk and Rambagh is the main artery of Srinagar city’s road connectivity map because beyond Rambagh lie vast residential areas, residential colonies, private and public structures and establishments. There is huge movement of men and machines along this corridor. Its broadening could have been an option but taking into account the cost of compensating demolished structures along these 2.5 kms of corridor would have been very forbidding. This all justifies the decision of the Government to go for the construction of a flyover for this distance. The work was begun in 2013 and it was supposed to be completed in 2016. However, the completion date could not be kept as is the case with almost all major projects in the State.
The Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) was given the responsibility to execute the project. Authorities handling the project can produce a number of reasons to justify delay in the completion of the project. But the fact is that most of the reasons given are not tenable. For example an official at ERA said the delay in completion of the first link was because the guarders for Rambagh Bridge had to be cast near the site. Well, was this not stipulated when the blue print of the project was approved for execution? The time taken by this component naturally must have been taken into account and as such there seems no real justification to make it a pretext now. However, the delay caused by the unrest that took the Valley in its grip for a number of months is what cannot be challenged. After all the call for strike was given by the Hurriyat leaders and naturally it had its adverse impact not only on the flyover under consideration but on a number of other projects in the Valley. This is unfortunate and the Chief Minister had been repeatedly speaking about the damages which strike calls cause the overall development of the State
However, the executing authorities are sanguine that the first phase of the project is likely to reach completion by the end of the month. Let us hope that work picks up and the project completion keeps the date.
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