Waseem Ahmad
Srinagar, Jan 6: After missing several deadlines in the past, the much hyped Jehangir chowk- Rambagh flyover missed another deadline and the work on it is still incomplete.
The phase-II of the flyover from Rambagh to Aloochi Bagh was expected to be completed on Dec 31 last year but the executing agency failed to complete this phase of the project on stipulated time.
The project is executed by Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA) with Simplex Infra Limited as project contractors and the ambitious Rs 350 crore Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover missed several deadlines since the work began on it.
The construction work of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded flyover which began in 2013 will reduce the traffic congestion in Srinagar city Centre and provide quick access to International Airport.
The flyover project was announced in July 2009 and was supposed to be completed by 2012, but work on it actually started in September 2013.
Initially, the construction work could not take off due to various issues, including rehabilitation of affected shopkeepers and other offices as it would have meant a loss to their business.
Later, in 2014, the area was badly affected by floods, forcing the authorities to further extend the timeline and then the unrest of 2016 also caused disruption in the work.
The first deadline for the completion of the project was set as September 2016 and then another deadline of August 2017 was set which also was missed. The latest deadline missed by the executing agency for the completion of the phase-II of the project was December 31, 2018.
Earlier, the Phase-I of the flyover from Amar Singh College to Barzulla Bridge was completed in the month of May last year and was thrown open for the traffic.
A penalty of Rs.1.25 crore was imposed on the contracting agency for the delay in the project in the month of November last year and the contractor was directed to ensure that the phase-II of the flyover from Rambagh to Aloochi Bagh is completed by 31st December 2018, however, the project missed that deadline too.
Meanwhile, Dr. Raghav Langer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JKERA while admitting the missing of December 31 deadline of the project blamed that the unfavorable weather conditions and low temperature in the vValley this winter for the delay in the project. “Two issues happened. We were expecting that the structural portion of this phase would be completed in mid December last year and by ending December, we will do the blacktopping work. But the concreting of one deck slab at Rambagh have been done recently and it will take 28 days to settle that, this was the one reason for the delay and the second reason is that due to unfavorable weather conditions in the month of December, the blacktopping of the portion could not take place, otherwise the whole of this stretch is almost complete. So, the blacktopping work of this phase will be done in the month of May 2019 and we are expecting that the structural part of phase-II of the flyover would be completed by the first week of February,” he said, adding, “From January to April, blacktopping work is not allowed due to low temperature.”
The CEO further said that the structural part of the flyover is supposed to be completed by 15 April 2019 and the surfacing work or blacktopping work in the month of May 2019, if the temperature will be favorable.
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