Srinagar: Inhabitants of Bungam in Garkote village of border town Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday demanded the con- struction of a new footbridge.
A delegation of locals told Greater Kashmir that the already constructed wooden footbridge is in a dilapidated condition for the last many years.
The bridge was built by the local Block Development Office (BDO) back in 2001 at the cost of Rs 1.98 lakh, they said.
“Till date it has not been repaired or reconstructed,” said Mudasir Ahmad, a local.
He said that the dilapidated and broken bridge is posing a serious threat to the lives of the residents.
“A high school, graveyard and a population of over 200 households are put- ting up on the other side of the bridge. We fear that this bridge can collapse anytime as even school children cross over through it,” he said.“The con- dition of the bridge is so bad that whenever we start walking over, it starts shaking,” he added.
Bashir Ahmad Bhat, anoth- er local, said that though the issue has been taken up with the local SDM Uri and DC Baramulla, but nothing was done.
“We learnt that a new bridge is being constructed by the Roads and Building (R&B) department but they are dilly- dallying the tendering process unnecessarily and people are made to suffer,” he said.
Fayaz Ahmad Kumar, Execu- tive Engineer R&B Uri said that he will look into the matter.