Construction work on Srinagar Budgam Ring Road will be completed as per schedule: officials

MASROOR AHMAD

Budgam: Construction work on 62 km Srinagar-Budgam-Ganderbal semi-ring road is in progress, land acquisition and compensation at all the proposed sites have been completed so far.
As per the official data this project will cover Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Bandipora and Gandebal districts to help decongest the Bypass Road and NH44, apart from that the semi-ring road will be more helpful for tourists to reach Gulmarg and Sonmarg safely.
Although construction work on Srinagar ring road has slowed down in winters, but officials are optimistic and sure that the project will be completed ahead of schedule by February 2024.
Last year, the project gained momentum after experiencing limited progress during the initial years due to a range of roadblocks, including challenges associated with compensating affected landowners. However, those issues have been resolved, and the project had been moving at a good pace particularly in Budgam District.
According to officials, work on project took original pace when the weather and temperature improved in March . “Currently, 100% labour force is on the job.
Despite initial progress, the work has encountered delays due to inclement weather in the winters and spring was also very rainy as compared to previous years. However, after weather goes better the project automatically picked up pace and presently project is going smoothly all the way.
The project is the part of the Prime Minister’s Development Project (PMDP) for Jammu and Kashmir and its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. However, the project’s development was halted due to a delay in acquiring land from the affected landowners.
“Compensating the affected landowners took some time, which led to initial delays. However, that issue was settled last year, and the compensation has been given to almost all the farmers, as per the official details.
The project involves building a 60.84-kilometer-long, four-lane semi-ring road in two phases. Phase-I involves building a 42-km section of road from Galander to Narbal, which will link Sumbal in the Bandipora district with Galandar, close to Pampore town. Phase II involves building an additional 18.84-km stretch of four-lane road from Narbal to Ganderbal.
“The project’s construction involves building 400 structures, including culverts and bridges, along the road section and work on majority of them is underway,” he said.