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| Mehbooba to rectify Omar's skewed decisions | | No more NC-style vote-bank politics, Raj Bagh to get only footbridge | | ET Report
SRINAGAR, June 17: In a major setback to previous National Conference led government's plan to construct skewed bridge instead of a straight one, near Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School at Raj Bagh, only to favor its "vote bank politics" in Amira Kadal constituency, an expert committee has found the upcoming structure unsafe for vehicular movement.
Highly placed sources said the Mehbooba Mufti -led government has taken a serious note of the expert opinion that the bridge would make the entire area accident-prone on both the banks of river Jhelum.
The sources said the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC), which is executing Rs 20 crore project, has been asked to make requisite changes in design to make it a footbridge instead of the present plan of constructing it as vehicular bridge.
Sources said there was so much of negative feedback from the experts and environmentalists that the construction was supposed to have been abandoned altogether. "But as work on pillars is already underway and the project has already been funded by the central government, we thought why to make waste millions already spent; better to utilize it for pedestrians atleast," said a senior official in the Civil Secretariat in know of the matter. He said the Managing Director JKPCC Dilip Thusoo has been asked to make requisite changes in the design.
In 2011, when the then National Conference-led government started work on the skewed bridge at this busy spot in the civil lines, experts had cautioned that it would be "highly accident prone." The civil society had equally been up in arms against the "illogical project."
But paying no heed to any outcry, the then government went ahead with the project in brazen violation of norms as if Srinagar was under "autocratic rule".
Srinagar Municipal Corporation officials confirmed that no building permission was ever granted for this construction as it violated the Master Plan. Besides, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, confirmed that it has not issued any NOCs for the project.
Officials said a major reason why the then government remained hell bent to construct the "faulty" skewed bridge was to connect the commercial hub of Lal Chowk with Raj Bagh, the residential colony which was being illegally commercialized though construction of malls and hotels by some influential people.
"The then government was coming up with this bridge only to take Raj Bagh closer to Lal Chowk so that the moneyed voters remain happy. But this was being done at the cost of public safety, to say the least," explained an official associated with the project.
He said though there was a proposal to construct a vehicular bridge parallel to the existing Abdullah Bridge towards Emporium downstream, the then Chief Minister outright rejected the proposal saying that the "bridge has to come up near Convent come what may." "He (Omar) had unduly taken it up as a prestige point out of his arrogance," the official added.
Though presently Peoples Democratic Party MLA Syed Altaf Bukhari represents Amira Kadal constituency and would prefer his vote bank interests, the PDP led government is unlikely to succumb to any pressures. "Mehbooba Ji is an iron-willed lady for whom her safety of people and infrastructure development which benefits the state is priority over any pity vote bank politics," said a top leader adding the structure would be a footbridge. |
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