Jahangeer Ganaie
Anantnag, Dec 17: Two vital World Bank projects under ERA in southern Kashmir are awaiting completion with no work carried out for the last one year.
One project consisting of a bridge over river Jhelum and approach road is pending for the last two years.
The road, named as per officials ‘Up gradation of Bijbehara to Kanihama road via Katriteng and Waghama’, proposes widening and upgradation of 8.396 kilometres, which will include a bridge in the New Colony Bijbehara area, with an estimated cost of Rs 14.70 crore.
The work on the project was started in 2020 but abandoned later and hasn’t been started since then, locals said.
The project is expected to decongest Bijbehara of traffic jams to a large extent.
The second project which consists of 5 Km road from Sangam Anantnag to Khudwani Kulgam is also awaiting completion as work has been left abandoned due to unknown reasons.
Locals from the area said that they provided land for the construction of road without any compensation so that road can be completed at an earliest.
Road is lying in dilapidated condition at many spots due to which public is suffering, they said.
The work on the project was started and later abandoned and hasn’t been started again as of now, they said.
They said that work on the much hyped project was started in 2020 but due to unknown reasons it has been abandoned.
They said that if this project will be completed, will be alternative route for people of dozens of villages of South Kashmir.
They said this issue was brought in notice of higher ups umpteen times but to no avail.
An official of ERA said that 90 percent of the work is complete while work on the pending portions will start soon.
He said that projects will be completed by June 2023.
