Vital bridge in J&K Assembly Speaker's village defunct since March for lack of repair
Chadoora (Budgam), Sep 02: Taiba (name changed), a cancer patient who received her last chemotherapy only last week, had to take an 8-kilometer harrowing detour for a distance of hardly one km to reach her relatives at Sogam village here in central Kashmir's Budgam district.
Thousands of people in the area have been facing the same ordeal like Taiba for the last six months now as the vital Sogam-Badipora bridge here is awaiting minor repair work of its retaining wall, washed away by heavy rains on the intervening night of March 15–16 this year.
The bridge was inaugurated by Chrar-e-Sharif MLA and Jammu and Kashmir Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, in the run-up to the 2014 Assembly Elections at an estimated cost of Rs 55 lakh. But the massive bridge has been defunct for nearly six months now for lack of repair. Rather, a National Conference veteran who lost the 2014 state election to PDP's Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, made a comeback in last year's first assembly polls in the UT of J&K from his traditional bastion Chrar-e-Sharif.
While construction work was taken up by the Public Works (R&B) Department soon after, the bridge gradually went on the backburner, leaving people agitated. After initial concrete raft work on the retaining wall, the department later shifted to gabions (crate work) to save time and money. Still, the road is not through, leaving the locals all the more perplexed.
Aghast Locals
Ghulam Hassan, a local from Sogam, said that the bridge did not just connect the twin villages but was a vital link between Budgam and two south Kashmir districts of Pulwama and Shopian via Chrar-e-Sharif and Pakherpora. He appealed to the concerned MLA for immediate repair of the retaining wall to give relief to the locals.
Mehraj, hailing from Badipora, said that the damaged retaining wall has put the entire bridge at further risk of floods, while Hilal Ahmad Mir, another local, urged the authorities to pay attention to the vital structure.
The 'construction', which almost claimed a life
The R&B department's lackadaisical work on the retaining wall led to a horrific mishap in May this year when a local youth, Toyub Mohd Burhan from Kralwari Chadoora, fell into the deep gorge formed at the site due to alleged negligence of the department.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Burhan attributed the mishap solely to the R&B Department's negligence, citing the lack of a barricade or signboard at the dangerous site.
“As I approached the slope from Badipora to Sogam, I applied brakes to lower the gears as usual, expecting the slope I knew, but it was blind on the other end,” recalled Burhan, who works in the Advocate General’s Office at the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He is still recovering from the horrific accident after undergoing surgery for multiple fractures.
R&B department complains about 'lack of funds'
The Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, which is executing the project, has cited lack of funds for the minor work, which it said could take a month to complete.
Executive Engineer R&B Division Chadoora, Abdul Qayoom, said the department faced “the issue of funding for the massive wall,” saying the switch to gabion work will expedite the process. Qayoom expects that the retaining wall will be ready in a month.
On the sub-retaining wall for a link road from the Sogam side, which locals said had narrowed down the road, the officer said it would be realigned so that the width of the road is not disturbed.
