| Traffic chaos, incomplete crucial bridge await pilgrims | | Govt caught napping as Amarnathji Yatra closes in | | Abdul Majid
ET Report
SRINAGAR, May 11: Pilgrims thronging the Amarnathji Shrine via its traditional Chandanwari-Panjtarni route in south Kashmir may yet again have to face inconvenience as the construction of a concrete bridge at Pahalgam, the base camp for the pilgrimage, is still incomplete.
The existing single-lane Bailey Bridge across Lidder Nallah is not wide enough to cater to the heavy flow of traffic, which grows manifold during the two month pilgrimage.
Over the years inconvenience has been growing for pilgrims who would bear the brunt when stuck in traffic jams for hours together.
Security experts have been saying that traffic jams on the shrine route in this trouble-torn region are "a potential security threat and need to be avoided at any cost". "Traffic jams are chaotic situations where it's always difficult to offer requisite security cover and thus threat perception of terrorist attacks looms large at such places," explained a police official adding recent surge in militant attacks has heightened the tensions.
Though government started construction of a 2-lane bridge across the Nallah, the endeavor looks a half-hearted measure. The work was slated to be completed in 18-months at a cost of Rs four odd crores. But four years on, the bridge is incomplete.
Official sources in the Roads and Building (R&B) department said the paucity of funds hindered the work progress.
Given the importance of this strategically important route, observers said, the government should have prioritized the development by earmarking full amount for the construction of the bridge in one go. "But what happened in reality is that the money was spent elsewhere on menial projects to meet vote-bank interests whereas this crucial assignment was ignored," said an R&B official.
While the present PDP-BJP regime claims to have prioritized development activities in the state, work on this project continues to be sluggish though Yatra is round the corner.
Officials said if the pending work was taken up seriously, it could be completed before the Yatra scheduled to commence in July. "But in the prevalent circumstances, the bridge won't be ready in time," admitted a senior official adding huge gridlocks were feared during the pilgrimage to the Cave Shrine.
A senior R&B official, however, said efforts were on to complete the work at an earliest. "Almost 75% of the work is complete the remaining we'll try to complete before Yatra," the official told Early Times.
In January, Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board while presiding over the 28th Board Meeting said Yatra-2015 shall commence on 2nd July, 2015, an auspicious day of Purshotam Purnima of the Hindu Calendar.
"Considering the present carrying capacity of the tracks and other available infrastructure in the Yatra area, the Board decided that 7,500 Yatris, excluding Yatris who would travel by heli-copters to Panjtarni, would be allowed to register for Yatra-2015 on per day per route basis. On this basis there would be about 16000 pilgrims on the tracks every day," an official handout from the shrine board had said. |
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