Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Jul 19: Despite witnessing tragedy a few months back, the pivotal Gandbal Bridge in Batwara of Srinagar has missed yet another deadline.
Pertinently, the officials had stated the bridge would be ready for public use by the first week of July.
Now, as the work is going on, the locals have urged the officials to speed up the pace of the work.
As per the details, the deadline for Gandbal Bridge was set as June 30, 2024, but authorities were unable to meet it.
Earlier a boat ferrying locals, mostly school-going children, to the other side of the river capsized in the Jhelum, where eight people died and one is still missing.
On June 22, the Chief Engineer of the R&B department, Sajad Naqeeb had also informed KNO that Gandbal Bridge was expected to be ready for public use by the first week of July.
In this regard, an official heading the Gandbal Bridge construction said that the work is ongoing and that from the Batwara side, the work is completed. “We are continuously working on the bridge, and the work is almost complete on the Barwara side. The delay occurred because there were some problems on the Gandbal side, as people were not allowing us to work properly,” he added.
Meanwhile, a local from Gandbal also said, “We want the authorities to complete the bridge as soon as possible.”
