Residents fear another tragedy as bridge completion continues to lag
Chief Engineer blames local demands for ongoingdelay
Srinagar, July 19: Despite the tragedy in April this year that claimed six lives in the Gandbal area of Srinagar, the authorities have failed to complete the bridge, missing two deadlines.
The R&B department of Kashmir Valley accuses the locals of the Gandbal and Batwara areas of demanding a motorable bridge instead of a pedestrian one.
Despite the passage of considerable time, the bridge remained unattended until the tragedy struck, claiming six lives, with one person still missing. The residents of the area said that until this tragedy occurred, no one was paying attention to this bridge, even though the government was focusing on transforming the city into a beautiful and smart city.
Amir Raza, a local, said, “When this tragedy happened, every official who visited the area assured us that the bridge would be completed very soon. The first deadline was set for June 30, and the second for mid-July, but the department has failed to complete it.”
The locals stated that the authorities might be waiting for a repeat of the tragedy that claimed six lives when they were crossing the river. Every resident of the area believes that if the bridge had been completed, those six lives would not have been lost.
Chief Engineer R&B Central Kashmir, SajadNaqeeb, told Rising Kashmir that there has been a delay in the work due to local interference. “We were supposed to provide a pedestrian bridge, but the people of Gandbal are demanding a motorable bridge,” Naqeeb said. “This issue has been taken up with the government and it has been approved. It will take time to make it motorable. In the first phase, we will open it for pedestrian use in the first week of August. Currently, people from the Gandbal area visit the site and stop work for hours, which is why we couldn’t meet the deadlines.”
The officer assured that by the first week of August, the bridge would be opened for pedestrian movement, provided there is no interference from the locals.
