Work on Pulwama's Dogripora bridge to resume after 16-year hiatus

Pulwama, May 24: After years of delay, the government has finally granted revised administrative approval for the construction of a long-pending double-lane truss girder bridge over the Jhelum River at Dogripora village in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The revised approval had been sanctioned for an amount  of Rs 1529.47 lakh. The construction of the bridge was taken up in 2008 and was to be completed within three working seasons. However, the work was stopped halfway through, causing tremendous hardships to the residents. The residents have long been demanding the resumption of work to mitigate their sufferings.  PDP leader and MLA Pulwama raised the issue on the floor of the House during the Budget session. In response to Parra's question about the status of construction, the government had admitted that the construction of the Dogripora bridge along with Reshipora bridge remained incomplete due to non-availability of funds. "For Dogripora bridge only sub-structure was completed by JKPCC and for Reshipora bridge sub-structure was partially completed", the government said in its reply. Following the sanction of revised administrative approval, Parra took to X and posted :

"The long-pending demand for a vital bridge connecting Pulwama to NH-1 via Dogripora, Awantipora—initiated by Mufti Sahab is finally approved after hectic follow-up and set for completion within a year. It will greatly benefit students, farmers & commuters". Residents of the area said that in the absence of the bridge they had to cross the river using boats. "At times it proves quite a  dicey affair, particularly during the inclement weather conditions", said the residents. According to the residents, the completion of the bridge would reduce their travel time. " The bridge will easily connect us with Srinagar-Anantnag National Highway", said the residents.