AARYAN SHARMA
JAMMU: The sign-board put up by Damodar Ropeways Infra Limited, the executing agency of the Bahu Cable Car Project in Shahbad Colony clearly exposes the political conspiracy hatched by the vested interests to trigger a controversy.
A close scrutiny of the sign-board clearly reveals that at the time of beginning of the project on ground zero the ropeway project was designed to cover the area between Peerkho to Mahamaya and Mahamaya to Bahu Fort.
The sign-board further reveals the conspiracy part of the entire story. The name Shahbad could be seen bracketed clearly on the sign-board. Interestingly, it was written there initially by scrapping the surface of the board and later it was painted in black colour. Even the hand writing clearly exposes that the word Shahbad was added at a later stage and that too without taking any formal permission.
Even at the time of foundation laying ceremony, it is clearly mentioned that the stone of Jammu ropeway project is being laid by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Shahbad colony near Bahu Fort.
According to residents of the area, the Gujjar Basti was renamed by the local residents and a former Congress minister, who had nurtured his constituency and put up few sign boards, declaring it as Shahbad colony.
In revenue records, the locals said, there is no mention of the name Shahbad colony.
According to Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, grandson of Hassan Mohammed, the land for the project was donated by his grandfather. He said now politics has superseded the issue of construction of ropeway project. “The State government should not stop the construction work on the project and without wasting any time they should sort out the issue so that the project is completed on time and the area witnesses more progress due to footfalls of tourists in the area” he added.
