IF New Delhi gets inspiration from what the JK government is doing in this summer Capital then historic Red Fort may someday be leased out for rehabilitation of slum dwellers of the nearby areas while this vandalization could be pleaded as “temporary rehabilitation.”
 This is what one could infer from the plea, which the authorities have pitched to defend the construction of GI sheet fabricated shops on the historic Zaina Kadal bridge in old City, the Shaher-e-Khaas.
 The Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC), the agency which has been assigned the task to construct the shops, says “It’s a temporary arrangement”.
 But if experts are to be believed the JKPCC isn’t any competent authority to comment on the rehabilitation issue whether temporary or permanent.
 And this “temporary rehabilitation” tag attached to the alleged vandalization of the bridge named after its founder, the 15th century emperor of Kashmir, Sultan Zain-Ul-Abideen, holds little weight because there are numerous cases where dislocated shopkeepers have been awaiting rehabilitation for the past several decades. This way, the “temporary shop sheds” are feared to remain on the heritage bridge for several decades if not centuries.

THE JKPCC PLEA
 The JKPCC said the shops were being constructed to rehabilitate some 22 of the traders whose establishments on the right of Jhelum are coming in way of the proposed construction of a bridge across the river.
 “It’s a temporary arrangement. The shops will be removed and the bridge be given a facelift once the shopkeepers are rehabilitated elsewhere,” said General Manager JKPCC, Farooq Ahmed Bulla.
 The official however, couldn’t comment much about the fate of other shops, which are coming under the proposed road widening in the area, just next to those getting alternative space for business on the bridge.

SHOPS TOWARDS CENTRE
 Prompted by a Greater Kashmir report that the shops were being constructed on the mega water supply line feeding around one lakh consumers, he said, the structures would be shifted towards the centre of the bridge to leave space for 300 MM water pipe snaking a side of the bridge.
 “We will leave gap in the rear of the bridge so that there’s no problem with the pipeline,” the official said.
 He said the presently constructed shops were “nothing but sample”. “Now we will reconstruct them in a proper manner,” the JKPCC General Manager assured.

THE MOCKERY
 But in shifting the shops towards the centre, little space will be left on this bridge for public movement.  The simple reason is that the Public Health Engineering department says three to four feet space should be left spare towards the pipe side pleading that in case of any repairs this much of space would be required for movement and other support.
 “This way the 10X8 feet cuboidal shops will have to be shifted towards the centre leaving mere 12 feet space for vehicular traffic and public movement on the bridge,” said a senior official requesting not to be named.
 Simply put the bridge will be left with two options of mobility: either people will walk or traffic will move.
 But as for the bridge development, District Development Commissioner, Baseer Ahmed Khan opines that the construction of shops there won’t affect its heritage character. 

STORY TILL NOW
 Notwithstanding Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s claims of June last year that the historic Zaina Kadal bridge would be conserved, the ground reality contradicts the claims of the National Conference led government.
 For now not only the bridge is facing vandalization but the government plans to remove the majestic riverside Vakil Manzil to pave way for proposed road widening and construction of the new bridge.
 Even though  Muhammad Yaqoob Vakil  and some other share holders  of this  landmark  house have been stressing for the conservation of Vakil Manzil, the government intends to raze it to the ground.
(To be concluded)

Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 IST