Kupwara: There has been a prolonged delay in the construction of two bridges on River Pohru in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district whose combined cost is almost 12 Cr. More than seven years have passed but the bridges are yet make two ends meet.
One of the bridges connects Hatmulla and many nearby villages with Drugmulla.
Sources in the Roads and Building department say the construction of bridge begun in 2011 post its damage in 2009. “The project cost of bridge was almost 6.72 crore. Today its nowhere near completion.”
Similarly, work on another bridge connecting Nagree-Bramree is also under construction, started on August 2010 ‘at a cost of 5.99 crore’, forcing people to cross river Pohru or travel long distances to cross over.
“On a rainy day kids don’t go to school,” resident Sajad Ahmad said.
The villagers have to use alternate routes to move if there is an emergency situations but had they worked up to ethics ‘people won’t suffer’.
The residents said the villages which remain cut off during bad weather conditions including Shatwari, Nagri, Malpora, Hotarpora, Krishipora, and Bubernaag.
Though the villagers have kept a boatman who takes people across the river, but during heavy downpour, the service is shut so not to risk lives.
“This keeps the entire areas cut off from major routes including those leading to hospital, schools and market,” Shabir Ahmad a local said.
The delay in reconstruction of the bridges has forced traffic to ply on incomplete and risk-prone tracks or the long routes.
Sources confide that there are not only two bridges waiting to be completed so to help people.
Deputy General manager Jammu & Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation. (JKPCC) Kupwara Mufti Irfan said that the work was stopped due to non-availability of sufficient funds.
“Once the funds will be released, we will try to complete unfinished construction work within short period of time,” he claimed.
