By Aijaz Ali
Srinagar: A major portion of an under construction bridge at Noorbagh collapsed on Monday. The bridge has been under construction for the last ten years and will connect Noorbagh area with Qamarwari.
The local residents told Kashmir Observer that they heard a loud bang at around 5:PM in the evening. After enquiring they found a major portion of the bridge had collapsed. However, no loss of life or injury was reported in the incident.
On March 21, this year, Chief Engineer R&B Showkat Jeelani had announced that the bridge will be operational by the end of this year.
Notably, the work on the bridge started in 2011. The project was scheduled to be completed in four years. However, the project has been facing inordinate delay.
The locals slammed the Roads and Buildings department, Kashmir for the incompetence and poor engineering resulting into the collapse.
“The work on the bridge has been going on for the last 10 years. Despite repeated assurances the authorities have failed to complete it on time,” Abdul Raheem, a resident of Noorbagh told Kashmir Observer.
Raheem said the project has missed several deadlines. “Initially it was scheduled to be completed in 2014. Later, the deadline was extended upto March 2017 and then upto December 2018,” he added.
Another local said, they have no hopes that the bridge will be motorable this year and slammed the authorities for poor engineering. The bridge is designed to reduce traffic jams at busy Qamarwari Chowk.
Despite repeated attempts, Chief Engineer R&B didn’t receive the calls from Kashmir Observer.
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