SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRIANGAR: Development in Kashmir is a story of missing deadlines and work in progress, as many projects are under-construction for last s many years, with numerous extensions issued to them year after year, thereby expressing lack of capability of successive Governments to execute mega projects. Noor Jahan Bridge in Srinagar is one such example. Being constructed at a cost of Rs 957 lakh, the bridge is in Qamarwar, Srinagar with allotment cost for approach roads as Rs 398 lakh. This bridge has jumped many deadlines since start of works with latest as December 2021. Although, work on bridge and approach road from Noorbagh side began in 2021, but it has stopped abruptly. For city dwellers and people from other towns thronging the city, the ride on the ‘cement bridge’ proves as a ‘bumpy ride’ as it is full of potholes. Another ambitious project, undertaken by Government for easing traffic woes of people in J&K and to improve connectivity between two regions Kashmir and Jammu, is four-laning of Jammu-Srinagar national highway and work on project in Kashmir region is almost over. This prestigious project started in 2011 and fixed deadline was June 2014. The project executing agency not only missed the deadline but sought extension after extension. Even after getting numerous extensions, the project is yet to be completed. “Work on project is going on. There are weather constraints and it is difficult to work in winter. About 80 per cent of the work has been completed, bridges, railway over-bridges are in final phase of completion while two tunnels Chenani-Nashri and Qazigund-Banihal have been made operational for traffic, but the most vulnerable stretch Ramban-Banihal will take some more time to complete,” an official of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informed. Another such example is community centre, work on which was started at Kraltang area of Sopore in 2017 but left midway. The empty building has now turned into a haven for drug addicts. Economic Alliance Sopore said that it speaks a lot about Government’s indifference, adding that several times they had approached authorities for completing work but nothing was done on ground level. Last year a parliamentary standing committee has expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that only 15 per cent of construction work of transit accommodations for Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir has been completed. The committee stated that process of construction of transit accommodation units needs to be expedited and it should be regularly monitored. Accordingly, directions were also passed for the completion of construction work at Shopian by March 2022 and at Baramulla and Bandipora by November 2022, but even then Shopian projected jumped first deadline. The government and executing agencies blame situation in valley or weather conditions for not meeting deadlines – taking refuge in excuses – which often leads to an escalation in project costs. Not only mega projects like AIIMS Awantipora Kashmir, the UT has even missed several deadlines for small developmental works like construction of bridges and hospitals, school buildings in the Valley.