Damaged due to incessant rains, Bandipora bridge out of bounds

Bandipora, July 23: The Gamroo-Gundqaiser Bridge which was damaged due to last month’s incessant rains is out of bounds for the people affecting dozens of villages.

The base columns of the bridge on both sides along with the parts of the road caved in after the incessant rains flooded the Arin stream on June 22, locals said.

   

They said officials from the administration visited the spot the same day and promised repairs within no time to ease the difficulty many villagers were to face.

However, no repair works have been initiated yet and the bridge remains barricaded for any commute.

Locals said people from at least a dozen villages use the bridge to commute and the bridge serves as a sort of bypass to divert traffic in and out of the town area.

“For over a month now we haven’t been able to use this bridge. The closure has affected many villagers who frequently commute from here,” Mudasir Ahmad, a local, said.

Locals said that the officials from the administration promised restoration work on the bridge but never showed up since. Locals said that the department claims that it does not have the funds to make the repairs.

“The department is expressing helplessness stating that they do not have the requisite funds to repair the bridge,” Ahmad said.

Executive Engineer R&B, Bandipora, Malik Abdul Qayoom told Greater Kashmir that the funds were allotted for repairs and work would start soon as the tendering process had been initiated.

“The tender for carrying repairs on the bridge has been released and will be uploaded online in a day. Work on the bridge will start in a week after the tenders are allotted,” he said.

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