Dogripora residents desperate to cross river safely

Awantipora (Pulwama), Oct 29: On April 16, at least nine people, most of them school children, lost their lives after a boat capsised in the river Jhelum near Gandbal in Srinagar. The tragedy sent shock waves through the entire area and caused widespread grief. Some 35 kms away down the river in Awantipora's Dogripora village, hundreds of residents went weak in the knees, fearing that they might face a similar tragedy due to comparable risk in their area.

Each day, the residents including the students have to cross the river Jhelum to reach Awantipora using boats due to lack of a bridge.

"In the absence of the bridge, we have to take a detour to reach Awantipora, Anantnag and Bijbehara, " said Ghulam Mohammad, a resident.

The detour enhances the travel time by an hour or more, spurring the residents of this quaint village, known for sprawling paddy fields, to use boats to cross the river. "In emergencies, we have to cross the river even in bad weather conditions, when it gets particularly dicey", said Mohammad. "Everyday feels like a gamble", he said.

Mohammad said that the lack of bridge also impacted the education of children. The proposal for the construction of a bridge over the river was approved more than 17 years ago and the work was taken up in 2007.

However, after progressing intermittently for a few months, the work was completely abandoned. “We were never informed about the reason for leaving the construction work half way through," said a group of residents.

They said that they were clueless about when or if the construction work would ever resume.

"The entire area voted for the construction of the bridge in the recently held Assembly polls. We hope the newly elected government does not ignore our long-standing demand," said the residents.

According to the residents, the construction was initially started by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) and was later handed over to the R & B department.

An official from the R & B department , who declined to be quoted, said that the JKPCC did not provide the structural drawings to the department after the project was handed over to it last November.

"They have been using delaying tactics for the last more than six months, promoting the department to invite tenders for fresh drawings", said the official .

Manzoor Ahmad Beig, Executive Engineer R & B , Awantipora told Greater Kashmir that the sub-structure of the bridge had been completed and now they were preparing to work on the superstructure.

"We are waiting for the drawings, which have been sent for a third party vetting. We will restart work, once they are cleared," Beig said.