Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Apr 1: Government came to a scathing attack by the ruling National Conference MLA from Sopore Assembly segment, Haji Mohammed Ashraf in the State Legislative Assembly today accusing it of discriminating with his Constituency.
The MLA during Question Hour and later when his calling attention motion on construction of Spore Bye Pass bridge took the Government to task for ignoring Sopore in development.
The member who showed total dissatisfaction with the reply given to him by Minister of Urban Development Nawang Rigzin Jora to his question regarding insanitation in Sopore said that there is no proper drainage system in the town. He said last year he was told that Rs 2 crore were earmarked for the same and now the Minister says only Rs 42 lakh have been made available. This is a total discrimination with the people of Sopore, he added.
He said the Municipal Council Office, Sopore is under security forces and it has not been restored till date. The increasing discrimination with the people of Sopore is the reason for stone pelting and unrest in the town, he said and demanded that justice be given to the people of the area.
Later the Minister informed the member that security forces will be shifted from Municipal Office.
The member again protested when his Call Attention Motion regarding delay in Sopore Bye Pass bridge came into discussion in the House and accused the successive Governments of discrimination with township despite the fact that Sopore being the hub of business especially fruit marketing in entire Kashmir.
He said the bridge is under construction and its work was started over two decades back. He said he had heard that Taj Mahal which is the 7th wonder of the world was constructed in record number of 20 years “but I think the Sopore bridge (which he named as 8th wonder of the world) will be constructed in 40 years’’.
He wanted to know from bureaucrats that why the bridge was delayed. An emotionally surcharged Ashraf said that “we are here to settle the problems and not to delay them’’.
He said that Sopore people faced traffic jams constantly and “this is the main cause of public unrest”.
He also demanded that a commission be constituted to ascertain the reasons for delay in construction of the bridge.
The MLA said Sopore Bye Pass is an important corridor of North Kashmir and the work on it was taken in hand long back. In March, 2011 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave directives to Khursheed Ahmed Ganai to look into the reasons that why the bridge was delayed and ensure its early construction but nothing was done till date.
Sharing the concern of the Member, Minister of R&B Abdul Majid Wani said the bridge connects two districts and it is being constructed by Border Roads Organization (BRO). He said the Government has proposed an authority and it will be made soon. He assured the member that the bridge will be completed by October end this year.
The Minister said the work on 216 mtr bridge having five spans is in progress though the pace of work is slow. Two number abutments and five number piers have been completed. Pre-stressed girder of one end and approaches are in progress, he added.
He said though the work was sanctioned in 2002. However in contractual document the date of commencement is April 1, 2004 and date of completion was March 31, 2008.
He said BRO has assigned various reasons for delay in construction of the bridge which included unprecedented floods in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the area falls under snow bound region where only six months are working time.
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