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8 years on, Noorbagh, Qamarwari Bridge yet to complete

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Srinagar, : Qamarwari, Norbagh Bridge connecting several areas here in the Srinagar city is awaiting its completion for past eight years.
Sources said that the authorities in the Roads and Building (R&B) department have miserably failed to complete the project on time as it has so far missed several deadlines.
The work over the construction of the alternative bridge was started in June 2011 at the estimated cost of Rs 9.85 crore while the bridge was supposed to get completed in June 2014. “The government had assured that the bridge would be completed in four years. In view of importance of the bridge, people living on two sides of Jhelum in the area extended cooperation to the authorities. Ironically, they have failed to complete the project within stipulated time,” one of the locals told early times.
Locals fear that due to snail’s pace of work on the project, the construction of the bridge will be delayed. The project has already missed several deadlines. After public pressure, authorities had re-fixed the deadline as December 2017 “We feel disappointed to find that work on the bridge has been most often stalled and now is going on at snail’s pace. This bridge is under construction from past eight years,” said Habib- Ullah, a local of Qamarwari srinagar.
The locals urged government to direct concerned authorities to ensure completion of the bridge before the deadline.
“It has become a routine for some authorities to initiate a project, construct some pillars or plinth and then leave it halfway,” said, another local.
“It is unfortunate that government always extends deadlines rather than making officials accountable for their failure to complete projects on time,” said one of the shopkeepers.
The bridge missed its first deadline in 2014. Later Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti promised that the bridge would be thrown open by March 2017. The deadline was later extended to December 2017, which was missed again.
Chief engineer Roads and buildings department when contacted told KNS that the work has been stopped due to delay in shifting of mosque. “Actually there is a mosque which needs to be shifted. For time being we have stopped the work. But as soon as the issue of shifting of mosque is sorted out, the work will be started,” the CE said and added that he is hopeful that the bridge will be completed November this year. (KNS)

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