Ganderbal, Jan 30: Two years after the construction on bus stand began in Ganderbal district, the work on the project has been stopped for some unknown reasons, the locals said.
 “Even after being carved out as a separate district, Ganderbal   is still devoid of a bus stand causing huge inconvenience to the people,” the residents told Greater Kashmir.
 “We thought things would get better after getting the district status. But we are going from bad to worse as far as the developmental issues are concerned,” Muzafar Ahmad a local businessman said.
 The work on the bus stand, being constructed over an area of 88 kanals, started a couple of years ago, when Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah took the personal interest and released an amount of Rs one crore from the Urban Development for its construction.
 The work according to sources had been stopped due to non-release of payment amounting to Rs 9 crore. The project, they said had been undertaken through centrally-sponsored scheme- Integrated Development of Medium Towns (IDMT).
 “The commencement of the work on bus stand brought cheers on the faces of the people. But their happiness was short-lived as the work on the project was stopped by the executing agency for want of the funds,” the locals added.
 According to the people, earlier, a small bus stand was constructed by the administration at Tawheed Chowk on the banks of river Nallah Sindh. “But that was rendered useless and was not used for the purpose,” the locals said adding the bust stand had been turned into garbage dump now.
 The non-availability of a viable bus stand in the district is causing huge inconvenience to the people. “In order to go to Soura, Hazratbal or Srinagar, we have to board a moving bus that comes from Kangan, Safapora, Sumbal, Shallabugh or Lar. We barely manage to get a seat in the already overloaded vehicle and have to travel standing,” Ejaz Ahmad local told Greater Kashmir, adding the women and children face tremendous hardships due to non-availability of seats in the buses.
 Pertinently, the traffic jams in the district, particularly at Duderhama, Beehama and Tawheed Chowk has become order of the day.
 When contacted, Municipal Committee Ganderbal Executive Officer, Muhammad Anees Chowdhary told Greater Kashmir that the construction of bus stand had been halted due to non-availability of funds.
 “We have framed an action plan under a centrally-sponsored scheme, Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) for the development of the bus stand and its link roads. It is expected that the work on bus stand will be started soon.”
COMPILED BY SHEIKH NAZIR

Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST