13 years on, Noorbagh-Qamarwari Bridge yet to be completed

Srinagar, May 15:  Despite the passage of around 13 years, the work on Noorbagh-Qamarwari Bridge is going on at a snail's pace and has not been completed since 2011.

The delay in the completion of the bridge has caused immense hardships to the population living in the area.

"The government is not paying any attention to it. There is no interest shown by the government to ensure timely completion of this bridge," said an elderly resident of Qamarwari.

The bridge is being constructed on a vital road that connects with SKIMS Soura and due to this the road witnesses massive flow of traffic on this side.

"But due to this incomplete bridge, there are a lot of difficulties faced here every day. This road connects to SKIMS through Qamarwari, and there is heavy traffic rush," the locals said.

They said that during past years, some vehicles carrying patients got stuck in this jam, causing delays in reaching SKIMS which cost lives of several patients.

"There is only one bridge here through which traffic flows from both sides, causing traffic congestion on this spot every day. The gridlocks remain for hours here during morning and evening hours. This has been the situation for many years, and the government has not been able to expedite the work on this bridge," another resident told Greater Kashmir.

The locals complained that the contractor of this bridge never remains present on the construction site and only a few workers are seen working on this bridge. "The government thinks that work is progressing vigorously on the bridge. It has been 13 years and it is still not completed," the locals said.

Apart from the incomplete bridge, the link road in the area is also in bad condition which adds to the traffic mess in the area.

"This causes a lot of problems for students and employees besides other commuters. There is no progress in work since many years," the locals said.

The Qamarwari cement bridge project worth Rs 9.68 crores was approved in 2010 and the work on the project was started in 2011.

"But even after 13 years, work is still ongoing, causing a lot of difficulties for people here. Due to the incomplete work on bridge, local people have to choose alternative routes, which takes a lot of time, leading to daily traffic jams," the residents said.

An official said the project was scheduled to be completed in four years after the work was started on it. Once completed, the bridge is designed to reduce traffic jams at busy Qamarwari Chowk.

"The ongoing project has already missed several deadlines. Initially it was scheduled to be completed in 2014. Later, the deadline was extended up to March 2017 and then up to December 2018 but it is still incomplete in 2024," the official said.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat when contacted said the bridge will be completed in August this year.

"We have given the timeline to the executing agency and asked them to complete the work on the project by August this year," he said.

He said the district administration has sought reasons from the executing agency for inordinate delay in completing the work on the project during previous years. "There have been some reasons behind that but we have sought reasons from the concerned agency," DC Srinagar told Greater Kashmir.