Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 4: A pedestrian bridge under construction in Tulwari Langate of north Kashmir’s Handwara has not been completed despite over a decade passing, leaving people distraught.
The bridge, spanning Nallah Mawer, plays a key role in allowing locals to reach their agricultural land; however, due to a lack of connectivity, people are facing issues and the authorities appear to have failed in completing it.
“The work started nearly 10 years ago, but so far, it has not been completed; we have seen works being carried out occasionally, but we fail to understand if there are funds available, why they are not able to complete it,” said Abdul Qayoom, a resident.
So far, the residents said that 70-80 per cent of the work on the bridge-with an estimated cost of Rs 7 crores-has been completed, noting that they are clueless regarding why it is taking so long for the authorities to complete it.
“The majority of the agricultural and horticulture land is situated on the other side of the Nallah, but due to the non-availability of connectivity, we are suffering,” another resident said.
The residents said that two more bridges, which used to provide effective connectivity, collapsed, bringing them back to square one.
“One is Batgund Bridge and Daandkadal on the other side, but they collapsed in 2019, leaving the people to fend for themselves due to the non-availability of connectivity; people find it hard to reach the other side to access their fields,” the residents said.
Mir Gulzar, Executive Engineer, R&B Langate, told Excelsior that the work on the bridge was going on in languishing projects; however, he said that the program has been wound up. “Now the project is in the State Sector, and we are eyeing to complete it by March next year,” he said.
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