Noor Jehan Bridge

Twelve years have passed since the construction work on the new Noor Jehan Bridge in Srinagar city was started. But the project is yet to be completed. The inordinate delay is hitting the very objective for which the construction work was started.

Thousands of commuters who have to travel on the old Noor Jehan Bridge daily are caught in traffic jamming. The traffic jamming does not remain confined to the old bridge only but affects the traffic movement also on adjoining roads at Noorbagh and Qamarwari.

The construction work on the new bridge began with the aim to facilitate smooth movement of traffic from north Kashmir to the city centre. The Roads and Buildings department was assigned the work. But the unending delay in the completion continues to be a problem.

Reports say that eight chief engineers of the department have retired during the period. Going by the slow pace of the work, it is not known when exactly the work will get finally completed; and when the traffic movement would start from the new bridge.

Once completed, the bridge would be of a great relief for the commuters as their precious time gets wasted during the heavy traffic flow in the peak hours of morning and evening. The traffic movement will also ease on the adjoining roads at Qamarwari and Noorbagh.

There is an immediate need to speed up the work. There should not be unnecessary delay for one reason or the other. The concerned authorities must take the delay seriously and find out as to why this is happening. Immediate corrective measures need to be taken.

An important project like this should not be allowed to get affected due to slow pace of work and delay. The timely completion of the project should have been a priority for the successive governments since 2011. The floods of 2014 and later the Covid-19 cannot be an excuse for the delay.

Several other mega projects were started and completed well in time. And several other important projects are in progress and are expected to be completed on scheduled time.

Those looking after the construction work of Noor Jehan Bridge must keep this thing in mind that the winter is approaching and can slow down the pace of the work further. The work on the bridge has to be prioritised and completed at the earliest.